Man Violently Assaulted Woman At Meriden Train Station: Police

Crime & Safety

Man Violently Assaulted Woman At Meriden Train Station: Police A man faces several charges, including attempted murder, after police said he is accused of assaulting a woman at the train station.

MERIDEN, CT — A man faces several charges, including attempted murder, after police said he is accused of violently assaulting a woman at the Meriden Train Station on Wednesday night.

Meriden police notified Connecticut State Police around 9:20 p.m. on Sept. 11 that a woman had walked into the lobby at police headquarters to report an assault that occurred earlier in the evening at the Meriden Train Station.

EMS personnel at the Meriden Police Department advised responding troopers that the woman would be taken to the hospital with injuries that police said weren't life-threatening.

While at the hospital, the woman told police that around 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 11 she was in front of the eastern side of the Meriden Train Station when a heavyset man she didn't know walked up to her and grabbed her from behind.

The woman said the man threw her to the ground and began choking her, according to police.

"Additionally, the complainant explained that she tried to escape from the male but was pinned down by the male's bodyweight and began to lose consciousness," police wrote in a news release. "The complainant provided the investigating Trooper with a limited description of the clothing worn by the accused male and further explained that when she regained consciousness, she located an individual who began to assist her and drove her to her residence, where family members encouraged her to report the incident to police."

State troopers responded to the train station around 10:45 p.m. to try and find the suspect.

Police said investigators reviewed security footage from the train station and focused on the timeframe reported by the woman and "identified footage corroborating the complainant's account of the incident."

"The video also depicted the accused male fleeing from the area shortly after physically separating from the complainant," police wrote. "Upon learning this information, Meriden Police were provided with a detailed description of the accused male and the video footage depicting the alleged assault was subsequently seized as evidence in this investigation."

Troopers and Meriden officers continued searching for the suspect in the area surrounding the train station, according to police.

Meriden police advised state troopers around 12:40 a.m. that they found and detained a man matching the suspect's description.

Troopers saw that the man had changed his shirt but was wearing the same pants and shoes that were depicted in the video footage, according to police.

Police said the man was positively identified by his Connecticut identification card as Curtis Demond Hemmingway, 37, of Meriden.

Hemmingway was arrested and charged with criminal attempt at murder, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree strangulation, and second-degree breach of peace. He was held in lieu of a $150,000 bond with a court date of Sept. 13.

Police said the victim was treated at a local hospital and released.

"This appears to be an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public," police said.