KIRKSVILLE, IL – An Illinois man faces multiple felony charges following an alleged violent assault on his girlfriend that left her with a severe head injury and prompted a desperate escape attempt on New Year’s Eve.

Authorities arrested Thomas A. Welch, 31, after responding to a call early Sunday morning reporting a woman covered in blood outside a residence in the small Moultrie County community of Kirksville. The incident began hours earlier while the victim, her boyfriend Welch, and another man, Cody Kimery, were driving near Mattoon, according to law enforcement records.

The woman told deputies she and Welch became involved in a heated argument inside the car, which escalated when Welch threatened her life and struck her on the head with a blunt object. The blow caused a deep gash on her forehead, medical personnel later determined, severe enough to expose her skull.

Despite her pleas to be released from the vehicle, the woman said both men refused to let her leave. The alleged ordeal continued for nearly an hour as the vehicle remained in motion, officials indicated.

When the car slowed to about 20 mph, the victim seized an opportunity and hurled herself from the moving vehicle, according to investigators. Disoriented and bleeding heavily, she managed to reach a nearby home. The homeowner, startled to see a bloodied woman approach through the darkness and mist, immediately called emergency services.

Sheriff’s deputies and medical teams responded to the scene and provided immediate aid before transporting the woman to a local hospital. Physicians treated her for the extensive head wound with multiple staples, reports indicate.

Detectives later stopped Welch’s vehicle and recovered a dashboard camera that appears to support the woman’s account of the harrowing incident. According to investigators, the recording shows Welch and Kimery preventing the woman from leaving the car despite her repeated pleas. Footage also reportedly captured Welch making alarming threats to Kimery, suggesting he might kill the victim.

Welch has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery, and kidnapping. Kimery, 33, faces a charge of unlawful restraint in connection with the incident.

Welch was taken into custody last week and remains held at the Moultrie County Jail without bond. The investigation is ongoing as authorities review evidence and prepare for court proceedings.