A Hot Springs man was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to beating his ex-wife so severely last year she was reportedly unrecognizable when Hot Springs police arrived.
Mason Robin Zeigler, 43, who was set to stand trial today in Garland County Circuit Court, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of second-degree domestic battery, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and was sentenced to six years, with court costs expunged for time served after his arrest.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Oct. 21, 2017, around 1:30 a.m., police who responded to a battery call at the apartment complex at 132 Oak St. heard a woman moaning upstairs after entering the lobby.
Officers found Zeigler in a hallway near the entry door leaning over his ex-wife, who was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She was reportedly mumbling incoherently.
Zeigler told officers she "needed an ambulance" and he had "messed up," stating "I beat her." His hands were covered in blood and it was splattered across his clothing, face and shoes.
The woman was barely able to sit on the floor without falling over and had large amounts of blood coming from both nostrils, her mouth and both sides of her head. It appeared as if she was having difficulty breathing and remaining conscious. Officers noted she had a large pool of blood between her legs and continuously vomited blood.
Her eyes were almost swollen shut and she had large amounts of bruising already forming around her face. She appeared to have fractures and breaks around her nose and eyes, as well.
She was "unrecognizable when compared to her driver's license photograph," the affidavit said.
Zeigler told police they had an argument that turned physical and he began punching her and then kneed her and kicked her in the face numerous times with a steel-toed boot.
He told officers the victim had a pacemaker and he most likely struck it during the confrontation, admitting "he knew this could have caused her death." He also admitted he choked her to restrict her airflow, but not to the point where she lost consciousness. He said he had to prevent her from choking on her tongue after she began having seizures from the attack.
Zeigler said the attack lasted about 30 minutes, and that he beat her until he thought she wouldn't "cheat on him again."
Local on 07/17/2018