GAINES TOWNSHIP, MI – Police say a man stabbed his girlfriend in the neck, then, as he drove her to the hospital, told her to tell authorities she accidentally fell and stabbed herself.

Instead, the victim, Ashley Miller, told hospital workers that her boyfriend stabbed her.

The suspect, Shawn Richards, 30, was arrested when he returned to the hospital. He is charged with assault with intent to murder and domestic violence. He is jailed on $1 million bond.

The stabbing occurred around 3 p.m. Monday, July 8, at a residence on Piedmont Drive SE in Gaines Township.

The victim told police that she was attacked by Richards after they decided to end their relationship. She tried to flee, but was pulled back into the house as she screamed for help, a Kent County sheriff’s detective said.

Richards threw her down on the kitchen floor and continued to assault her, police said.

“The suspect obtained a knife during the confrontation and told the victim that he was going to kill her as he then stabbed her once in the neck,” an investigator wrote. “The suspect, after the assault, drove the victim to the hospital and tried to convince her to report that she had accidentally (fallen) and stabbed herself.”

Once she was alone with staff at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Miller reported the attack. The hospital contacted police, who arrested Richards when he returned to the hospital, police said.

E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar