Man Charged In Brutal Beating Of His Wife

35-year-old Chet Richard of Opelousas has been arrested after deputies say he beat his wife with a metal pipe.

A meeting about child support Richard allegedly owed her led to the brutal incident. Deputies with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office say the wife wanted to meet him at a local store to discuss the payment, but he convinced her to meet near her home on the road. She told detectives Richard then sideswiped her vehicle, then turned around and hit her head on. After getting out of his vehicle and trying to get into hers unsuccessfully, the victim says Richard went back to his van, grabbed the pipe, busted her window out and then began to beat her with it, knocking out some of her teeth and causing multiple cuts and bruises in the process.

A witness reported seeing the incident and called officers out to Homer Richard Road in Opelousas.

Deputies say they were able to recover the bloody pry bar allegedly used in the battery.

Richard faces charges of Aggravated Battery and Attempted 2^nd Degree Murder and sits in jail with no bond.

The victim was treated at a local hospital.