Des Moines man arrested, charged for holding wife in basement

A man accused of holding his wife captive in a basement and beating her has been arrested. 

Matthew Sites, 39, was arrested Sunday and has been charged with willful injury causing bodily injury, false imprisonment and domestic abuse assault. 

According to court documents, Sites held his wife in the basement of a home owned by his father on the 3200 block of Southwest 13th Street for two days. He beat her with a metal flashlight and a wooden rolling pin, causing skull fractures, according to the documents. He also reportedly choked her until she was unconscious.

She feared that Sites would kill her if she tried to get help, but was able to escape and call for help after Sites left the home Thursday, the documents state. 

The state has requested a no contact order against Sites.