Man threatens woman, accused of cutting hand

Daniel Ouellet, 47, was arrested Saturday in Newington, New Hampshire, after police found him with a woman who told authorities he threatened her and her family, forced her to drive him while he allegedly held a loaded gun, and cut her hand with a box cutter f

A woman ran out of a New Hampshire Olive Garden in tears as officers arrived just before 11:30 a.m. Saturday—saying the man she was with had threatened her. pushed her toward a marriage against her will. and cut her hand in what she described as a “satanic ritual. ” according to a Newington police affidavit.

Daniel Ouellet. 47. was arrested after Newington police officers responded to the restaurant in Newington. New Hampshire. where authorities say they found him with the woman. The incident prompted a shelter-in-place order in nearby Lee. where Ouellet was living at a campground. as first reported by WMUR.

The chain of events began earlier in the day after Pennsylvania State Police requested a welfare check. Newington Police Chief Michael Bilodeau said via email that the request came after the woman’s mother tracked her cellphone to the Olive Garden in New Hampshire.

In the arrest affidavit, officers said the woman wanted to file an emergency protective order against Ouellet. Officers also noted apparent cigarette burns on her legs, according to the affidavit.

Ouellet, in statements reflected in court documents, allegedly tried to reassure police by saying he was a “really safe guy,” and claimed he and his “wife” were simply out for a meal.

But the woman told investigators a far more alarming story. She allegedly told police that Ouellet reached out more than a week earlier and threatened to come to Pennsylvania and hurt her and her family if she did not drive up to meet him. The affidavit also says it was not immediately clear how the pair knew each other.

When the woman arrived in New England, authorities allege Ouellet slipped a handgun into his pocket and said they would go to the town hall in Lee to get married “or he will make her pay.” The affidavit says Ouellet also held onto her phone for the several days she was with him.

On Friday. according to police. Ouellet made the woman drive him around in her car while he sat in the passenger seat with a loaded gun aimed at her. The affidavit further alleges he told her “that the religious cults were following them.” Inside the car. Newington police purportedly found a copy of “The Satanic Bible” belonging to Ouellet.

Authorities also allege that earlier on Saturday morning, Ouellet sliced the woman’s hand with a box cutter “to go forward with what she described as a satanic ritual.”

Newington police charged Ouellet with using a deadly weapon to prevent someone from reporting a crime, Bilodeau said. He is facing additional charges in Lee, the chief said. The Lee Police Department did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The documents reviewed by the court indicate Ouellet also faces charges out of Kittery, Maine, though the exact counts weren’t immediately clear. His criminal record includes a 2005 conviction for domestic violence-related offenses in Maine, according to one filing.

Ouellet appeared in court for arraignment on Monday. The judge overseeing the arraignment reported that Ouellet “appeared ‘to be following and responding appropriately. ’” but noted that “at one point he made a comment that may indicate some impairment of thought.” It was not immediately clear whether Ouellet has an attorney to speak on his behalf.

In a WMUR video from the arraignment. Ouellet said. “If you talk to anybody that knows me. I’m not a physical man. ” and he added that forcing someone into marriage goes against his beliefs. “I totally believe in free will. and I have never been aggressive with her in any ways that were described on that paper. ” he said.

The details laid out in the affidavit put two narratives side by side: Ouellet’s insistence that he was not violent, and the woman’s account of intimidation, a gun in the car, a cut made with a box cutter, and threats tied to a plan to marry her in Lee.

For now. the case centers on what happened in those days between Pennsylvania and New Hampshire—how quickly the situation escalated. why it was serious enough for a shelter-in-place order in Lee. and what a court will decide after Ouellet’s claims are tested against the woman’s allegations and the evidence officers say they found.

Daniel Ouellet Newington New Hampshire Olive Garden shelter-in-place Lee NH domestic violence conviction Maine 2005 satanic ritual box cutter protective order deadly weapon charge