‘I Don’t Beat Women’: Former Seahawks Lineman Chad Wheeler Pleads Not Guilty to Vicious Attack on Black Girlfriend
Former Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from a brutal attack on his girlfriend.
Wheeler, 27, is accused of strangling his 27-year-old Kent, Washington, girlfriend until she passed out twice during a Jan. 22 domestic assault after she refused to bow to him.
Kent Police Department officials released police reports and case documents to Atlanta Black Star on Monday. The investigative records revealed several new details about the violent attack and confirmed that the victim is a Black woman. Atlanta Black Star is not naming the victim to protect her identity.
The woman had noticeable fingerprints on both sides of her neck from Wheeler strangling her with both hands. The force of his chokehold caused capillaries to burst in the back of her throat. Days after the ordeal, she said she was having trouble eating due to pain in her throat.
The victim was also hospitalized with a broken nose, fractured humerus bone and dislocated elbow that will require her to undergo orthopedic surgery.
She told police Wheeler suddenly “snapped into a dark place” and ordered her to “stand up and bow to him,” according to the police report. She said he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the bed when she refused.
The charging documents also revealed that police had to taser Wheeler and use a hobble to temporarily restrain him when he initially wrestled with officers who took him into custody. The massive professional athlete was able to overpower them.
“Chad was so strong that even with the combined weight of three officers he was able to move around and prevent us from putting his arms behind his back,” one officer noted in the reports.
Wheeler faces charges of first-degree domestic violence assault, domestic violence unlawful imprisonment and resisting arrest. If convicted, he could spend up to 12 years in prison.
During his arraignment Monday, a judge placed Wheeler on house arrest in Washington and ordered him to wFbeatear a GPS-equipped ankle monitor, ESPN reported. The man was released from jail on $400,000 bond on Jan. 26. He was previously ordered to have no contact with his former lover, who appeared in court with her left arm in a sling.
She wrote a statement that was read in court. It made clear that the woman wants Wheeler to remain in custody.
Both Wheeler and the victim have described the incident as a “manic episode.” The victim of Wheeler’s attack originally declined to press charges when investigators questioned her at the hospital.
She did talk to officers the night of the assault, telling investigators she and Wheeler met online and had been dating for six months. She knew he suffered from bipolar disorder but claimed he hadn’t had an episode since he had a police encounter in California about five years ago.
When an officer asked the woman if she thought she was going to die, she responded “I thought I already had.”
She said Wheeler had recently moved back to California from Seattle but came to Kent to visit the woman at her apartment, the reports indicated.
Wheeler’s father testified during Monday’s arraignment that Wheeler was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2016, according to ESPN.
But the victim noted he recently stopped taking his prescribed mood stabilizers, according to reports. She said the attack wasn’t provoked by any arguments.
The woman claimed she first became suspicious that something wrong when Wheeler texted her a selfie that afternoon. His head was completely shaven. The woman told investigators his shoulder length hair was his “thing,” and said she rushed home to check on him.
When the woman arrived home, she immediately realized Wheeler was in throes of a manic episode, describing him as “emotionally up and down.” She believed he became stressed when he found out she was not pregnant, telling a detective he really wanted to have kids.
Her left elbow was swollen and deformed. The victim’s sister told police she spoke to Wheeler on the phone and made plans to go out to dinner with the couple that evening. When she got off the phone with Wheeler, the sister noticed text messages from the victim during the conversation. In the texts, the victim tried to get her sister to decline Wheeler’s dinner invitation.
“He’s having a manic episode, say no please,” one of the texts stated. “I’m okay.”
Recognizing the stress signals, the sister said she grew worried because of the victim’s “generic” responses. She began calling the victim repeatedly. But the victim texted her, “please stop calling.”
The two sisters then began sending texts back and forth. “He’s having a hard time. I need to keep him calm,” the victim texted at 8:39 p.m. Wheeler attacked her about 15 minutes later, according to reports.
According to reports, Wheeler picked the woman up by the neck and threw her onto the bed where he strangled her until she lost consciousness. When she came to, she said Wheeler jumped back on her and began strangling her a second time. She lost consciousness again.
She finally woke up in a daze. When she looked in the mirror and saw her face covered in blood, she quickly remembered the attack. Just then, she said Wheeler came back to the doorway and said, “Oh, you’re still alive.” She told officers he sounded “happy, surprised, but cold” when he made the statement. According to case notes, she agreed it was “very matter-of-fact and robotic.”
The woman ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside. She called Wheeler’s father and told him what happened. Moments later, she overheard the father call Wheeler on FaceTime and ask him “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m just chillin, eating,” she could hear Wheeler say nonchalantly.
The woman texted photos of her bloodied face to friends and family members, asking them to call police. She was afraid for Wheeler to overhear her speaking, but also texted 911 for help.
When police began knocking at the front door, she heard Wheeler walking toward the bathroom. She said she began screaming for help after he was able to pick the lock to the bathroom.
Her screams prompted responding officers to kick down the front door and rush into the residence. When police forced the bathroom door open, they found Wheeler holding the victim in a bear hug.
The woman’s face was still covered with blood. Officers pulled her out of the bathroom and tackled Wheeler, who fell into the bathtubWheeler repeatedly shouted “I’m sorry” as police were taking him into custody and could be heard crying out “I don’t beat women.”
The report lists the woman as 5 feet 9 and 145 pounds. Wheeler is 6 feet 7 and 310 pounds.
His size factored in as officers struggled to handcuff him. The reports described him as “very solid and muscular.” One officer jolted Wheeler in the leg with a stun gun as multiple cops wrestled with him to ground. During the struggle, Wheeler flexed his NFL strength.
“Chad, who’s massive size took up the whole length and width of the bathroom floor was able to lift his body about three to six inches temporarily with what appeared to little effort from him.”
Wheeler had to be strapped down with leg restraints and yelled that he loved the victim while apologizing profusely. He eventually calmed down and was released from the leg restraints.
Following the arrest, searched the apartment and police found a pool of blood on the bed. The victim’s left arm was limp against her body, causing her to wince and cry in pain when she moved it. The woman had also urinated herself, the report stated.
The woman said she didn’t believe Wheeler struck her, telling officers her injuries came from how forcibly he pressed his hands over her face. Doctors, however, told her that Wheeler likely punched her several times in the face while she was passed out due to the swelling around her forehead, cheeks and eyes. She told investigators she did not recall him striking her.
The Seahawks waived Wheeler on Jan. 27 after news of the attack spread, issuing a statement announcing his release from the team.
Wheeler apologized in a series of tweets the same day. He was forced to surrender any weapons he owned as a condition of his pre-trial release.
“It is time for me to walk away from football and get the help I need to never again pose a threat to another,” he wrote. “I cannot express my sorrow or remorse enough. I am truly ashamed.”