By Web Staff

Clinton, MO (KMBC) -- A Clinton woman was forced to play dead to escape her attacker after being viciously stabbed and beaten by a man she met online.

The Clinton Police Department said officers were called to an area hospital just after midnight on Saturday after an assault victim was dropped off in the emergency room.

The woman told police she had met a man online and had started a relationship with him. He came down from the Chicago area to meet her in person.

While in Clinton, the man and woman became involved in an argument. That's when the man stabbed the woman several times with a knife and a pair of scissors before strangling her.

The woman said she was able to play dead, which halted her attacker. When she saw an opportunity, she tried to run.

Police said the woman made it outside before the suspect caught her and beat her again, this time with a metal chair.

The suspect was spooked by the sound of sirens in the area and stopped his attack.

The woman said that's when he loaded her into her own vehicle, drove her to the emergency room and dropped her off, telling emergency personnel that they had been robbed.

The man took off driving the woman's vehicle.

Police said he was arrested several hours later in Warren County, Missouri. Deputies found him still driving the woman's vehicle, and still covered in her blood.

The suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Michael A. Pullums of Country Club Hills, Illinois.

He is currently being held in Warren County, Missouri, in lieu of bond. He is expected to be transported back to Henry County.