Rodney Atkins Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Smother Wife With Pillow
Rodney Atkins was arrested last month for alleged domestic assault, according to TMZ. Court documents say that his wife, Tammy Atkins, claimed he attempted to smother her with a pillow and grabbed her by the face to throw her down the hallway.
Atkins’ wife reportedly called 911 at 7:47AM on Nov. 21 to tell police about the assault, saying that the violence occurred in their home after they had been arguing all night. His wife said the ‘Take a Back Road’ singer “had been drinking alcohol all night and was intoxicated” — and that it happened in front of their 10-year-old son, Elijah.
Atkins was arrested, but released on $2,500 bail. Since then, the singer has filed for divorce and claimed that his wife was lying, and his lawyer has released a statement to TMZ.
“When Mr. Atkins realized their child was in hearing range of the argument, his first priority became getting out of the earshot of the child,” the statement reads. “Mr. Atkins realized he would have no recourse but to file a complaint for divorce. He has exercised substantial parenting time with the parties’ son and he will continue to do so while the divorce is pending.”
The note from his lawyer concludes, “Mr. Atkins wants to thank his fans for standing by him, as he is confident the truth will prevail.”
In an interview that was published in October, before the incident occurred, Atkins had said that he and his wife would love to have more kids. “We would love to,” he told Taste of Country. “We’ve talked about adopting. That’s kind of the only way we could do that now. But I’d have 30 if I could. I love having them run around.”