A Beckley man is facing multiple charges after police say he attacked a woman with a knife and held her against her will during a violent domestic incident inside and outside a Beckley hotel on December 3.

Carsen Lee Burnum, 27, was arrested following the reported altercation and is being held at Southern Regional Jail on a $75,000 bond, according to a criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court.

Officers responded to the Smart Hotel on Harper Road after a witness reported seeing a man assaulting a woman outside a hotel room. The witness, who intervened to help the woman, told police the suspect had cut her with a knife.

When police arrived, they found the woman with a cut on her arm. She told officers that Burnum chased her into her hotel room and slashed her before running away.

A second victim was also found inside the hotel and reported she had been assaulted just moments earlier. She told police she tried to leave the room, but Burnum allegedly pinned her to the bed, grabbed her by the throat, and held her down. She said she managed to kick him off, but he blocked the door while holding a knife and told her, “The only way out of this relationship is death.”

The woman showed officers fresh bruises on her neck and said Burnum later forced her out of the room, continuing to push her around. Another person intervened, and Burnum reportedly cut that individual before fleeing.

Surveillance video confirmed part of the attack, showing Burnum chasing one of the victims outside the hotel before fleeing eastbound on Harper Road.

A security officer at Raleigh General Hospital later reported Burnum entered the building to warm up before leaving in a blue SUV. Using an address tied to Burnum’s mother, police located the vehicle and arrested him.

Records reviewed by officers showed Burnum was already out on bond, and the hotel incident violated the terms of that release.

Burnum is charged with:

  • Strangulation
  • Unlawful Battery
  • Unlawful Restraint
  • Domestic Battery
  • Bond Violation

He remains in custody at Southern Regional Jail pending further court proceedings.