O'Fallon Man Attacked Wife Saturday, Police Say

An O’Fallon man faces several criminal charges for attacking his wife Saturday.

Gunther Russbacher, 35, of the 300 block of Falcon Hill in O’Fallon, was charged Monday with second-degree domestic assault, two counts of third-degree domestic assault and felonious restraint.

O’Fallon Police said Russbacher attended Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program classes Saturday and then went to a bar. When he returned home he began arguing with his wife, police said.

The woman left and went into the infant’s bedroom, gave the child a bottle and sat on the floor.

O’Fallon Police reported the following:

Russbacher came in, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, slamming her into the railing over the infant’s crib. He then punched her in the face several times, picked her up by the throat and slammed her into a window and onto the floor. He then punched her an unknown number of times until she blacked out. The infant was no more than a foot away from the two during the assault.

Police also said Russbacher took her cell phone and hid it under the mattress. According to the police report, she was held against her will with no way to call for help until he left the room.

Bail for Russbacher was set at $25,000.

For more crime information on O'Fallon Patch, see the following articles:

• Police: Victim Choked During Domestic Assault On Windrose Court
• Man Charged with Assaulting His 77-Year-Old Grandmother