GREENFIELD – A Greenfield man faces felony charges of battery and strangulation after he beat a teenage girl, fracturing her nose and face, until she blacked out, charging documents state.
Hayden J. Nix, 19, was arrested late last week after the young woman’s mother told police he trapped her daughter in a car and struck her repeatedly, according to court documents.
Nix has since appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges; a jury trial has been scheduled for early next year.
He faces six charges: two counts of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony; criminal confinement with a vehicle, a Level 5 felony; strangulation, a Level 6 felony; battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, a Level 6 felony and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
The girl told police she was in the car with Nix earlier this month on their way to Indianapolis when they began to argue, court records state.
Nix pulled into an empty parking lot off U.S. 40, parked the car, and began slapping the victim until she blacked out momentarily, according to charging documents. She got out of the car, and he told her to get back in, she told police. He got in the backseat of the car with her and hit her again and strangled her, charging documents state. When she tried to get out of the car, he pulled her away from the door handle and wouldn’t let her leave, according to court records.
At some point, it appeared Nix realized what he was doing and stopped, the girl told police, according to charging documents. He ordered her to get out of the car and said he was going to kill himself, records state.
Then, he drove his car into a bush, she told police, documents state. He wasn’t going fast, and the airbags didn’t deploy, she told police.
The girl took out her phone to call Nix’s mother, which made Nix mad, according to charging documents. He jumped out of the car, knocked the phone out of her hand and punched her in the face, knocking her out, charging documents state.
When she woke up, she had blood on her hands and couldn’t see straight, she told police, according to court records.
Nix used ice cubes to clean the blood off the girl and changed her shirt before taking her to her sister’s home, where he told her sister they had been involved in a road rage incident, and another girl beat the victim up, charging documents state.
The girl’s mother took her to Hancock Regional Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a fractured nose and a facial fracture, according to court records. Her left eye was black and blue, and she had bruises on her arm and around her neck, police said.
When deputies contacted Nix about the incident, he told them he has a lawyer, and any questions could be directed to him, charging documents state.
When investigators went to the parking lot where the girl said the attack occurred, they found her sunglasses and her cellphone cover lying on the ground, court documents state.
Nix was arrested late last week and has since been released from the jail on a $10,000 bond.
He’s slated to appear in court next on Nov. 16.
Nix’s attorney, Zaki Ali of Anderson, could not be reached for comment.
