A Springfield man was arrested by federal marshals Monday in connection to a video that went viral earlier this month. The video shows a man punching a woman in the face and beating her.
Rostell C. King, 27, was booked into the Greene County jail Monday afternoon. He was charged July 11 with domestic assault in the first degree, causing serious physical injury.
The charge is a Class A felony that is punishable by at least 10 years in prison.
Warning: the following video contains material that may be harmful or traumatizing to some audiences.
The woman — described as “M.H.” in court documents — was beaten inside The Vue on Walnut, an apartment complex at 430 E. Walnut St.
The attack was captured by a security camera and the video found its way to social media.
It was posted, for example, on the Public Freakout and Springfield subreddit in mid-July.
The video shows the assailant walking up a short flight of stairs and the victim walking down some stairs. They suddenly meet on a landing, heading in different directions, and the assailant immediately punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
The assailant punches her again, while she is on the ground, and then kicks her three times. He then walks back down the stairs.
Not only did the attacker draw the wrath of those who commented on the video, but so did the action — or non-action — of what appears to be two young men.
Within seconds of the attack, the young men see the woman and offer no help. She is curled up on the ground, bleeding. Instead, they open the door behind her and exit.
According to court documents, a Springfield detective received a copy of the video on July 11.
The detective became involved in the investigation soon after the attack.
Details from court documents
According to court documents, at 4:22 a.m. Sunday, July 10, the officer was dispatched to East St. Louis Street and South Kimbrough Avenue “in reference to multiple gunshots and a female yelling for help.”
The detective wrote:
“I searched the area for further evidence and located a female victim, later identified as M.H., at S. Jefferson and E. Pershing with fresh blood exiting her head. M.H. stated she was not involved in the shooting and (there are a few words deleted from the court document) Rostell King assaulted her.”
It is possible the words were deleted in an effort to not identify the victim.
The assailant said nothing while beating the victim, according to court documents.
The victim needed 12 stitches in her face and also had a broken tooth.
An arrest warrant was signed July 11.
Jail records state King is 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds.
Court documents do not explain why King was not arrested until July 25 or why federal marshals made the arrest and not Springfield police.
Bond was set at $100,000.
A hearing is set Aug. 8 to discuss King's bond.
