[bloodrayne]

Man Accused Of Burning Girlfriend

New York - Neighbors can't believe what happened inside a West Brighton Street apartment. Police say Marcel Tirado pinned his girlfriend against a wall and burned her with a knife for about hour.

"He told her during the attack if she screamed or yelled for help he would kill her," says Sergeant Tom Connellan, Syracuse police.

"Her right arm is pink skin… her left arm just deep cuts, bruises,” describes an acquaintance of the woman.

During the attack, authorities say Tirado etched his name on her back and burned off her tattoo.

Syracuse police are describing it as a cruel and intolerable act. They say Marcel Tirado tortured his girlfriend with a hot folding knife. Tirado was arraigned in city court Monday morning. He pled not guilty.

"When our officers arrived they noticed numerous disfiguring burns on this women's back and this man's name, Marcel, clearly burned into the skin on her back. It was 12 inches long from shoulder blade to shoulder blade," Connellan says.

Police say this wasn't the first time the man had burned the mother of his child. They say there were two prior incidents. In one of those incidents they say Tirado used a hot screw driver.

A neighbor we spoke with said she would hear the 25 year old woman screaming late at night inside the apartment. Others say they tried to help her, but she said if she left Tirado he would kill her.

One concerned neighbor who didn't want to be identified says the woman was so scared after the attack she couldn't call 911, so she called for her.

"She was scared, crying. She feared for her life. I had to make her come out of the house,” the neighbor remembers. “She was scared to come out the house. She went into our house and stayed upstairs."

Police arrested Tirado at the apartment. His girlfriend is staying at an area shelter with her baby.

Tirado has been charged with assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in city court Monday morning. He pled not guilty.