Wife of Minnesota state senator is charged with domestic assault after 'hitting her ALS-stricken husband with a broom handle and threatening him with a knife'
The wife of a Minnesota state senator has been arrested after allegedly hitting him with a broomstick and threatening to stab him after a drunken dispute over 'past family dynamics' on Sunday night.
Charlotte A. Tomassoni, 69, allegedly threw a computer belonging to her husband David Tomassoni while he was in the couple's basement at their home near Hibbing, about 75 mi northwest of Duluth, according to a police report.
She also allegedly hit him with a broom handle and threatened to stab him with a knife if he went back upstairs, police say.
State Sen. Tomassoni, 68, feared that he wouldn't be able to defend himself because 'he has lost a lot of his upper body strength' after he was diagnosed with ALS in June, according to the Chisholm Police Department.
Charlotte A. Tomassoni (left) was charged with domestic assault Sunday night after allegedly hitting her husband David Tomassoni (right) at their home near Hibbing, Minnesota
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is an incurable degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.
Those affected eventually lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe.
Sen. Tomassoni told police that his wife was 'intoxicated and might be high on something' when officers arrived at the home at 6.36pm, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
She was allegedly upset about 'past family dynamics,' and David told police he left the house so she could 'cool off for a while,' but he later returned at around 4:30pm to watch the Minnesota Vikings game on TV.
He claims that's when he went into the basement, where she allegedly hit him in the chest with the broom handle and threatened to stab him.
Officers say they found Charlotte lying on the living room couch with two 12-packs of beer strewn about the floor, along with several empty bottles on the coffee table and around the couch.
They patted her down for weapons, noting that she reeked of alcohol and was slurring her words, according to the report.
Officers also noticed two steak knives on the kitchen table.
David Tomassoni, pictured above in 2004, was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disorder ALS in June. He told officers he was afraid he couldn't defend himself from his wife
Charlotte was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, which is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both, according to Minnesota law.
On Monday, she pled not guilty and was granted a conditional release. Her next court date is on October 4.
In 2012, she was convicted of fourth-degree driving while impaired and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation, the News Tribune reports.
Sen. Tomassoni represents the 6th District, which includes the Iron Range and parts of rural St. Louis and Itasca counties. He was first elected to the state Senate in 2000, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, and he is now the Senate president pro tem.
He first noticed ALS symptoms last year, telling the Star Tribune that it began with him having a hard time using his left hand to tuck in sheets on a bed or to turn down his collar.
The longtime Democrat split from the state party and formed an independent caucus in the narrowly divided Minnesota Senate last year, citing increased polarization.
