Woman shows up beaten at Hamilton church, one man charged with assault

A man is in custody after a distraught woman showed up at a Hamilton church with “significant injuries.”

The woman appeared at the historic Christ’s Church Cathedral at 252 James St. N. shortly after 9 a.m. on Jan. 6. The area around the church is busy and full of shops. The badly beaten woman had walked through this central area from a nearby, then-unknown apartment.

She reported she had been held captive in the apartment and was “seriously assaulted” inside. Hamilton Police soon arrived and launched an investigation. They concluded the apartment in question was at 181 Jackson St. This address is about 1.6 kilometres from the church. Per Google Maps, it would take about 22 minutes to walk across across much of Central Hamilton.

Once they found the apartment, police arrested a 32-year-old man on charges of aggravated assault, utter threats, assault with a weapon and choking. They have not identified or described the suspect.

“Hamilton Police would like to thank the public for their patience during the investigation,” they said

Anyone who has information can contact Detective Constable Ruth Gill at 905-546-3817 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.