A Fremont man is in custody after apparently trying to hang his girlfriend from a tree in the backyard. Somehow she managed to get on a cell phone while tied up and gave police the address, and when they arrived, they found her bound, hands behind her back, and a noose around her neck and strung over a tree branch, ready to be hung.

CBS reports that she was able to get her own cell phone out of a pocket while the boyfriend went back inside the house to get a cigarette.

The boyfriend, who's been identified as 31-year-old Daniel Howard, tried to use the unidentified woman as a shield between himself as police before hopping a fence and attempting to flee. He was quickly apprehended.

It seems police had come to the house six times in recent months on drug-related calls, and Howard's brothers were quick to tell reporters that he was probably high on meth.

The woman was treated for minor injuries, and Howard was booked on attempted homicide charges at Santa Rita jail.

[CBS]
[Tribune]