Woman stabbed in Milwaukee, 2 charged with attempted homicide

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man and woman are charged with multiple felonies after a woman was stabbed and nearly killed on Friday, Feb. 2.

Prosecutors accuse 36-year-old Patrick Pirtle and 32-year-old Piranjoli "Jessica" Pembleton of attempted homicide, among other crimes. Pirtle is also accused in regard to a previous domestic incident involving the same victim. 

Domestic incident | Jan. 25 

Police were called to a hotel near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport where a 32-year-old woman was hiding near a freezer. A criminal complaint states the woman had a swollen, bloody lip. The door to the woman's hotel room was broken, and the room itself was in disarray.

The complaint states the victim told police that her boyfriend, who she identified as Pirtle, had choked her – causing her to pass out – and punched her in the face. Later, the victim said Pirtle threatened to hit her again and said: "You are lucky I am letting you live." She then fled from the hotel room to get help, and Pirtle was gone before police arrived.

Stabbing | Feb. 2

Police were called to a fire station near 62nd and Burleigh where, the complaint states, the same victim in the hotel incident sought help after a stabbing. She was then taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

According to the complaint, the victim suffered four stab wounds to her neck – and other injuries to her wrist, head, face, arms and legs. Court filings state the victim's face was "almost completely purple with bruises." She was unable to speak to detectives until several days later due to her condition.

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Victim's statement

The complaint states the victim, while still in the hospital, was eventually able to talk with police on Feb. 8. She said she was at a hotel a few miles from the fire station with Pirtle on Feb. 1, and Pirtle's ex-girlfriend – later identified as Pembleton – picked them up on Feb. 2. She told authorities Pirtle had choked her again at that hotel, and she was then attacked while in the car.

Per the complaint, the victim said Pembleton stabbed her in the throat with a screwdriver while in the car. She said Pembleton later stabbed her in the face and smashed her hand with the screwdriver. The victim told police she asked Pirtle and Pembleton to take her to a hospital, but they kept driving and refused to let her out of the car.

The victim told police she was "in survival mode" and could not remember getting to the fire station, the complaint states. She said Pirtle and Pembleton were the only people who had harmed her, and she thought the two would kill her "with no hesitation." She also said she'd gone to a shelter in the past in search of help, but Pirtle had found her. 

Defendants in custody

The complaint states Pirtle was arrested at a home near 39th and Clarke on Feb. 8. At the home, prosecutors said Pirtle had a shotgun with a "jagged barrel end, appearing to make it shorter" and a pair of shoes that appeared to have blood on them.

Once in custody, prosecutors said Pembleton told police she did pick Pirtle and the victim up from the on Feb. 2 – but denied hurting the victim. Pembleton said Pirtle beat the victim and the two were at one point "fighting" in the back seat of a car. 

In all, Pirtle is charged with:

• Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
• First-degree reckless injury
• False imprisonment
• Strangulation and suffocation (domestic abuse)
• Misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse)
• Possession of a firearm by a felon
• Possession of a short-barreled shotgun/rifle

Pembleton, meanwhile, is charged with:

• Attempted first-degree intentional homicide
• First-degree reckless injury
• False imprisonment

Both Pirtle and Pembleton made their initial appearances in Milwaukee County court on Feb. 14. Pirtle's cash bond was set at $100,000, while Pembleton's bond was set at $75,000.