Man Charged With Strangling His Ex-Girlfriend Multiple Times

On Wednesday, at around 1:00 a.m., Missoula Police officers were called to a report of a disturbance at a residence in the 1100 block of 34th Street. According to Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh, a nearby neighbor was the one who called 911.

“When they arrived, the made contact with an adult female who stated that she had just been in an altercation with an ex-boyfriend who she identified as 30-year-old Eric Navarro,” Welsh said. “She said Navarro was no longer on scene and went on to describe that he had come to her residence upset that she had been out, made demands to know where she was and who she was with, and wanted to see her cell phone.”

Court documents indicate Navarro does not live at the woman’s home. When Navarro arrived, he began pounding on her door and yelled for her to answer. She said she let Navarro inside in an effort to prevent him from causing a further disturbance.

“She reported that he immediately grabbed her and threw her on the couch,” Welsh said. “She then reported that he wrapped both hands around her throat and proceeded to strangle her. She said that she was able to break away from him and attempted to run out of the residence. However, she reports that he caught here in the kitchen where he pulled her hair and strangled her again. She said at some point he let go of her and left the residence.”

The woman remembered being in fear for her life during the strangulation and remembered thinking Navarro could kill her.

Officers observed injuries to her neck, including that it was red and swollen. Her voice was raspy, and she was coughing more and more frequently as she spoke with police. She indicated she felt pain when speaking and pain when swallowing. Officers observed that there were large sections of her hair missing from her scalp and officers could feel a large bump on the back of her head. She noted that the back of her head was also in pain. Officers also located her hair strewn about the apartment.

Officers also noticed scratches on the back-right side of her neck that appeared to be older injuries. She indicated that several days prior, on September 13, 2020, Navarro had strangled her into unconsciousness as well. She reported that Navarro had strangled her multiple times over the course of their two-year relationship, but that the strangulation on Sunday “had to be one of the worst”.

Officers eventually located Navarro at a nearby residence. He was located crouched down in a closet of the residence in an apparent attempt to evade officers. Officers were ultimately able to place Navarro into custody.

Navarro was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony strangulation, and two counts of partner or family member assault. The second PFMA was Navarro’s third offense, making that one a felony. All in all, he was charged with five felony offenses. Navarro's charging documents can be found right here.

His bail was set at $200,000.