'I'm Going To Kill You': Lancaster Man Strangled Woman In Front Of Her Daughter, Court Finds

A Lancaster City man was convicted of punching a woman, slamming her into a wall, and then strangling her in front of her own daughter, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Roberto Cruz-Aviles
Photo Credit: *Lancaster County District Attorney's Office*

Mac Bullock

02/14/2024 11:37 a.m.

Jurors returned a guilty verdict against Roberto Cruz-Aviles last Friday, Feb. 9 following a two-day trial, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the assault happened at a Willow Valley Drive home in West Lampeter Township on Aug. 23, 2022. The victim told the court that "seeing her daughter witnessing the attack gave her the strength to fight Cruz-Aviles off," the DA's Office said.

The victim was taken to an emergency room with "visible strangulation marks" on her neck, and she later needed physical therapy for her injuries, prosecutors told jurors.

Cruz-Aviles had fled the home on foot by the time police arrived but was later caught and detained, authorities said. He tried to run away again after being informed he was under arrest, according to the DA's Office.

Cruz-Aviles was convicted of strangulation and simple assault and faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence as a repeat offender, prosecutors added.

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