VIRGINIA — A Fairfax County man is in jail after his girlfriend died days after police say she was assaulted in their home.
Robert Lee Howald, 35, called 911 around 5 a.m. on August 30, reporting that his girlfriend, 28-year-old Ana Maria Mena Membreno, was not breathing and that he was performing CPR.
When officers arrived at the home on the 6600 block of Jefferson Avenue in Woodley North, they found evidence indicating Membreno had been assaulted. Howald was arrested at the scene.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue transported Membreno to a nearby hospital in life-threatening condition. She died six days later, on September 5.
Howald is currently facing charges of strangulation and malicious wounding. He is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Authorities have not filed additional charges related to Membreno’s death at this time.
The case remains under investigation.
