SEATTLE, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A Seattle man has been charged with first-degree assault after allegedly trying to "sacrifice" his live-in girlfriend, authorities said.
Oumar Lam, 31, was nude and had been praying near a candlelit altar in their apartment when he allegedly attacked his 26-year-old unidentified girlfriend from behind, pulling a pillowcase over her head to suffocate her, police said.
When she fought back, he allegedly sliced her throat while yelling in an unidentified language, police said in court documents.
Lam allegedly continued stabbing her during the struggle, cutting her chest, back and shoulder before she could dial 911, the documents said.
The woman "was extremely fearful that Lam was trying to kill her as part of a sacrifice," the documents said.
She fled the apartment, pursued by the still-nude Lam, who dragged her back to the apartment, police said.
Weakened from blood loss, the woman was still able to rush to the door when police knocked, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
Lam continued to chant when confronted by officers, police said.
The woman underwent emergency surgery and is expected to survive, the newspaper said.
Lam is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 11 and faces 10 to 13 years in prison if convicted.
