BIG PINE KEY, Fla. – A Big Pine Key man was arrested Wednesday night after he pushed his girlfriend from a 13-foot balcony during an argument, Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Adam Linhardt said.
Charles Beneway, 26, was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery causing bodily harm.
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According to Linhardt, three deputies responded to the 30000 block of Avenue I on Big Pine Key at 9 p.m. after receiving reports about the domestic incident.
Linhardt said one of the deputies found Beneway in the driveway, where he told the deputy that he was the man involved in the incident.
Authorities said Beneway was detained as a female neighbor was tending to the 22-year-old woman who fell.
Linhardt said the victim was bleeding from her mouth and nose, but was conscious and talking.
Paramedics arrived a short time later. Linhardt said the woman lost consciousness and was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center. She was released from the hospital early Thursday morning.
According to Linhardt, the neighbor told authorities that she witnessed Beneway tell the victim he was going to kill her and then saw him push her from the balcony.
Her husband told deputies he also saw Beneway on a phone after pushing the victim and heard him tell someone on the phone that he pushed the victim off the balcony by accident.
Both witnesses told deputies they heard the couple arguing all night and heard Beneway say he was going to kill the victim several times.
Linhardt said Beneway spontaneously told a deputy he "has anger issues that need to get in control" while he was on his way to the jail.