Woman Arrested After Allegedly Abusing and Beating a Family Member

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud woman was arrested after allegedly abusing and beating a family member.

According to the criminal complaint, police went to the home of Dani Jo Uphus on July 9th for a report of domestic assault in progress. When she answered the door, she said the male family member had fallen off his scooter because the dog ran in front of him and denied physically harming him that day, but police say they saw scrapes and bruising on her arms. She said that was from an incident on July 3th where the man allegedly made inappropriate comments about another woman, and she locked him out of the house. She said when he came back in, they both hit each other. She told police she was overwhelmed by the man’s care needs and couldn’t handle it. Court documents say the man has Multiple Sclerosis and uses an electric scooter. He also reportedly has memory issues.

Investigators say they saw bruising on the man’s arms, chest, and legs and scratches at different stages of healing on his arms. He initially told police that he fell off his scooter and the scratches were from mosquito bites. He also denied getting into a physical altercation that night. He later admitted to police the two of them had gotten into an argument, and his scooter flipped over. He said Uphus refused to help him get back onto his scooter and was saying mean things to him. He also said she hit him on his back and shoulders while he was on the floor.

The person who called 911 told police she was on her porch and heard a dog barking. She said she walked toward the door of the house and saw Uphus hitting the man who was on the floor and heard her threaten to kill him.

Uphus is charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic assault and one count of felony threats of violence.

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