Police: Man choked, raped woman over birthday card

Police say a Springfield man raped and choked a woman after he saw a birthday card she received from another man.

He then forced the woman to take a shower to get rid of the evidence, police say.

Michael S. Lee, 34, was charged Monday with forcible rape and sodomy for an alleged attack that happened almost two years ago.

According to a probable cause statement, a practically naked woman ran out to her apartment parking lot yelling for help in the early morning hours of Aug. 11, 2013, in Springfield.

Witnesses told police a man — later identified as Lee — chased the woman out of the building and then fled in a black SUV, the statement says.

Police responded and the woman told them Lee attacked her after she went out to dinner with him that night, the statement says.

The woman told police Lee — who was highly intoxicated — noticed a birthday card on her nightstand that had been sent by another man. He got angry, choked her, forced her onto the bed and raped her, according to the statement.

During the attack, Lee allegedly told the woman he would kill her if she screamed before covering her mouth with his hand, the statement says.

Lee then made the woman take a shower, the statement says.

After she got out of the shower, the woman fled the residence and asked people in her parking lot for help, the statement says. Authorities were called, and the woman was transported to the hospital.

A warrant has been issued for Lee's arrest. He does not have an attorney listed for this case.

Some information — such as names of victims, relationships with a defendant or locations of crimes — can be missing in News-Leader stories about sexual offenses and domestic abuse. That's due in part to a state law that redacts the identities of victims, making some information unavailable to report. The News-Leader also tries to protect victim identities, unless victims want to speak out.