Police: Cedar Rapids man stabbed girlfriend with screwdriver

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man was arrested over the weekend after police say he punched his girlfriend in the face, stabbed her multiple times with a screwdriver and held her against her will.

Ian Woodward, 40, is charged with four counts of domestic abuse, two counts of willful injury resulting in serious injury, and one count of false imprisonment.

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According to a criminal complaint and a news release from the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Woodward assaulted his girlfriend Friday night in the 400 block of St. Olaf St. SW.

Woodward is accused of punching his girlfriend in the face and putting his fist in her mouth, causing severe injuries to her face. He also stabbed her in the head, chest, and thigh with a flat head screwdriver and held her in a headlock, trying to strangle her. He held her against her will for most of the day Friday and she eventually escaped by climbing out a window, the complaint states.

Police responded to the incident Friday night, and sent out a release Saturday morning stating that Woodward had been arrested and charged. He had his first appearance in court Monday and is being held on a $27,000 cash-only bond.

Woodward has previous convictions in Linn County for domestic abuse against different women in 2008 and 2017. There also is a case from 2024 that still is in the process of being adjudicated in which Woodward is charged with false imprisonment, obstruction of emergency communication, interference with official acts, and two counts of domestic abuse.

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