Amesbury man charged with attempted murder held without bail
May 23—AMEBSURY — A local man accused of strangling his girlfriend until she passed out Sunday night was ordered held without bail minutes after his arraignment on attempted murder and other offenses Monday in Newburyport District Court.
Samuel Jarvinen, 23, of Market Street was also charged with assault and battery on a family/household member, strangulation or suffocation, and intimidating a witness.
At Jarvinen's arraignment, Judge Allen Swan ruled he was too dangerous to be afforded bail while awaiting trial after hearing Essex County prosecutor Michelle Belmonte read portions of Amesbury police reports.
The reports, written by Officer Travis Tremblay and Detective Raymond Landry, describe how Jarvinen got so angry with his girlfriend about 11:30 p.m. Sunday that he choked her until she was unconscious. Jarvinen then called police.
When officers arrived, Jarvinen came running down a set of stairs saying his girlfriend was up there.
"I assumed he was upset because (the victim) was having a medical emergency. I asked Samuel if (the victim) was his girlfriend or roommate. He responded 'I'm going to jail for the rest of my life. I choked her until she was unconscious,'" Tremblay wrote in his report.
Jarvinen was then placed under arrest as Amesbury firefighters tended to the victim. While inside Tremblay's cruiser, he told the officer he would rather die than go to jail.
"I will not go to jail and if I make it to jail I will not eat until I die," Tremblay wrote in his report.
The victim was stabilized and transported to Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport.
At the station, Jarvinen told police he became upset when she told him she wanted a break from the relationship.
"I then became very upset and took five large gulps of vodka. Then I choked her. When I choked her I felt nothing. Choking her was the equivalent of me scratching an itch on my leg. I can't live without her," Tremblay wrote in his report.
Landry interviewed the victim at the hospital. There, she told Landry that after telling Jarvinen she wanted a break, he became very upset. She then tried calling her father twice only for Jarvinen to snatch the phone away from her.
When she tried to call her father a third time, Jarvinen pushed her to the floor of the bedroom and got on top of her. He then wrapped both hands around her neck and began squeezing. She quickly lost consciousness only to wake up to the sight of police officers, Landry wrote in his report.
"She also told me that she was relieved that she was alive but was also scared because she thought she might be paralyzed," Landry wrote in his report.
"Throughout my interview (with the victim), it was very obvious to me that she was extremely upset and shaken by this violent assault," Landry also wrote.
At the time of the incident, Jarvinen was wearing a T-shirt depicting the likeness of serial killer John Wayne Gacy wearing clown makeup. The shirt also had the words "Death Museum" on it, according to Tremblay's report.
Minutes before Jarvinen's arraignment, Belmonte received word that his attorney, Anthony Papoulias, wanted the court to provide a different T-shirt for his client before he was escorted into the courtroom. Belmonte then asked Swan for permission to take a photo of Jarvinen wearing that shirt before it was exchanged. Swan agreed to the request.
Jarvinen is due back in court early next month.
After Jarvinen's arraignment, the girlfriend went before Swan and asked that an emergency restraining order that she obtained following the attack be extended for a year. As Swan asked her questions, she was shaking uncontrollably. Court officials and her father were standing between she and Jarvinen so he could not look at her as she testified.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
