Police say a man used a serrated bread knife to cut away about an inch of a woman’s scalp during an attack on Thursday night.

John Christopher Foster

John Christopher Foster, 31, was booked into the Travis County Jail just before 6 a.m. on Friday, jail records show.

An arrest affidavit filed on Monday said Foster kicked in the door of an ex-girlfriend’s house around 11:30 p.m. the night before after he’d been drinking, and was furious about losing his phone.

As the woman tried to help him find it, he tripped her and shoved her to the ground, then began punching and strangling her, the affidavit said.

Foster let the woman up after a few minutes and went to the kitchen and grabbed a large bread knife with a serrated edge.

The document said he got behind the woman and began cutting her hair off with the knife.

"He cut off the majority of her hair on the right side of her head and the back of her head," the affidavit said. "To the back of her head, the suspect used the bread knife and actually removed about a one inch circular portion of her scalp with hair attached to it, permanently disfiguring the victim."

The report said he also held the knife to the woman’s neck and threatened to kill her.

Foster faces multiple assault charges in the attack, along with an additional charge of burglary.

His combined bail has been set at $250,000, according to jail records.