Police in Des Moines are investigating a domestic incident that’s left a man and woman in the hospital – both with life-threatening injuries. Police Sergeant Lori Lavorato says officers were called to a home on the city’s southeast side just before 7 o’clock this morning by a man who reported his girlfriend had been badly beaten.
The man told the dispatcher he would meet police in the garage. “When officers arrived on the scene, they went to the garage and found him attempting to hang himself,” Lavorato said. “They got him cut down and attended to him. After that, officers went inside the home and found a female with multiple injuries.”
The man and woman are both hospitalized in critical condition. They are identified as 50-year-old Richard Yazell and 48-year-old Ora Tigner. Lavorato says it appears Tigner may have been beaten with a baseball bat. “The male did tell dispatch that possibly a bat was involved,” Lavorato said.
Court records show Tigner had requested protective orders against Yazell three times in three years. Lavorato says police were called to Tigner’s home on three previous occasions since 2006. Two of those calls were for violations of no contact orders and the other was for a domestic dispute. Lavorato says no charges have been filed. Officers are monitoring the conditions of both Tigner and Yazell.