An O’Fallon man was charged with second-degree assault for slashing his fiancé with a knife and beating her March 26. The two had argued over a television program.

Ricky Lynn Hampton, 55, of the 500 block of Duchesne Ave., hit his fiancé in the nose, pulled her hair and poured Tabasco sauce on her, according to the police report. The fiancé told police that Hampton got on top of her and the only way she could get him off was by biting him.

The report states that woman was screaming, so Hampton grabbed a knife and said if she did not stop screaming he would kill her. Hampton then slashed her leg with the knife.

An ambulance took the woman to the hospital. The knife wound took 18 stitches to close, and her nose was broken.

Hampton told police that his fiancé started the fight by punching him in the face and biting him. He said he responded by pouring Tabasco sauce on her and got too close to her nose with the bottle, breaking her nose. He said she tried to stab him, but he grabbed the knife blade, which fell and cut her leg.

The police report noted that Hampton had no cuts on his hands, discrediting his story about grabbing the knife blade.

Hampton is being held on $50,000 cash only bond.