Mingus Reedus, the son of Walking Dead star Norman Reedus and former Victoria's Secret model Helena Christensen, was arrested after being accused of choking his girlfriend so hard that he lifted her off her feet inside their New York City apartment.

Reedus, 25, was initially charged with third-degree assault and obstruction of breathing Saturday (August 23) morning, before being arraigned on new charges of reckless physical injury, aggravated harassment and second-degree harassment later that evening, the New York Post reports. Prosecutors said the former model-turned-musician violently grabbed the victim, identified as a 33-year-old woman, by the neck with both hands and raised her off the ground while choking her.

The alleged assault continued the next morning when Reedus aggressively kicked the woman in the leg and threw her to the floor, according to prosecutors. Attorney Pryia Chaudhry, who is representing Reedus, claims that bruising suffered by the victim was unrelated to the incident on Saturday.

“I think it’s important to understand the context of what happened,” Chaudhry said in court. “He was concerned about her.”

Chaudhry claims that Reedus ended a five-month relationship between himself and the victim, who allegedly became distressed and took "a number of sleeping pills" in an attempt to commit suicide. Reedus called 911, which resulted in his own arrest as the woman accused him of attacking her.

Chaudhry said the victim, who had since moved out of the former couple's shared home, was "not afraid" of Reedus and had no intention of pressing charges against him. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Shamahs allowed Reedus to walk free as long as he stayed away from the victim.

The woman was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition after Reedus' arrest. Reedus had previously accepted a plea deal in relation to an incident in which he allegedly punched a 24-year-old woman during the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy in 2021, having been sentenced with a conditional discharge requiring him to stay out of trouble for a year and participate in at least five counseling sessions.

Steve Burrell