A Honolulu news site has released a recording of UFC fighter and TUF veteran Rachel Ostovich being brutally beaten by fellow MMA fighter and husband Arnold Berdon. The disturbing cell phone recording, made by a witness to the incident, includes audio of Berdon stating his intent to kill Ostovich and appears to also record a period when Ostovich fell unconscious from blows to the head.
“I’m going to murder you. I’m going to f*****g murder you,” a voice sources report is Berdon’s says audibly.
In addition to documenting the ferocity of the attack on Ostovich, the video raises deeply troubling questions about the motives of Honolulu’s prosecutor. Though audio confirms Berdon, who broke part of Ostovich’s skull during the beating, clearly states his intent to kill his victim, the prosecutor’s office downgraded Berdon’s original charge of attempted murder to assault. Police sources confirmed that Berdon was originally arrested on charges of attempted murder, and that their department recommended to the prosecutor’s office Berdon be tried for that felony rather than the lesser charge of assault.
“There are threats to kill,” Nanci Kreidman, a spokesperson of the Domestic Violence Action Center, told Hawaii News Now. “At what point does the system take his threats and his violence seriously, recognize them for the grave violent acts that they are and try to hold accountable the people that are committing these crimes?”
Toward the end of the video, a battered and naked Ostovich can be seen jumping from the second story of her home to the ground to escape Berdon’s attack on her life.
Berdon has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial begins in January.
Ostovich was forced to withdraw from her January 19th UFC matchup with Paige Van Zandt due to her injuries.
