May 12th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat  reports a Meyersdale man awaiting a hearing on drug related charges – and freed from Somerset County Jail on work release – beat his live-in girlfriend so severely that his own children had to step in and they reported the woman stopped breathing several times, according to Meyersdale police.

Police on Tuesday charged Brian Lee McFee, 40, of the 100 block of Keystone Street with felony aggravated assault, saying he choked the woman so hard that she lost consciousness and then he grabbed her by the legs, slamming her head against the floor after he returned to his home around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

Police said they based the charges on a medical report and statements from the woman, who called police Sunday, and McFee’s son and daughter, who told police she “truly believed (McFee) was going to kill (her),” according to an affidavit of probable cause.