By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 36-year-old Tulsa man has been ordered to appear in court on April 7 on a Payne County charge accusing him of throwing his ex-wife into a wall with sufficient force to break her right arm at her residence in rural Stillwater.
Jonathan James Axelson, who is 6’4″ and weighs 260 pounds, could be given as much as a 10-year prison term if convicted of domestic assault and battery resulting in great bodily injury, court records show. Axelson remains free on $10,000 bond.
His ex-wife reported the Nov. 9, 2025, attack on Jan. 8, 2026, after she recovered from surgery on her arm, Payne County Sheriff’s Deputy Daryn Zanfardino alleged in an affidavit.
“She stated that they had been divorced for years; however, they had been living with each other since the divorce. (She) stated that after the altercation that Jonathan had moved out and had possibly moved to Tulsa or Cushing,” the affidavit alleged.
She said “that they had been having an argument and that she was wondering why Jonathan had been so nasty and short with her… (She) stated that Jonathan came out of the bathroom and went to walk past her and told her to get the f…. out of his way.
“She reiterated asking why he was being so nasty, and she stated that Jonathan proceeded to shove her out of the way with great force throwing (her) into the stud of a wall. She stated that after that occurred, she exclaimed very loudly stating that she believed that Jonathan had broken her arm, while she was laying on the ground.
“She stated that Jonathan stated that he knew he was going to jail. (She) stated that she tried to get herself collected because her children were home, and she did not want them to realize what was going on.
“(She) stated that she then was brought to the Stillwater Medical Center Emergency Room so she could be evaluated and while she was there, she learned that when Jonathan threw her into the stud that it had fractured her right humerus and that she was going to have surgery on the arm.
“(She) stated that she underwent surgery from the injury and was unable to work for over a month due to the recovery process that occurred from the injury (She) informed me that Jonathan had displayed a verbally abusive temperament and that it had been progressively getting worse as time went on,” the deputy alleged in his affidavit.
In a petition for an emergency protective order that was issued on Jan. 15, she alleged, “In the past, he has punched me in the cheek, splitting it. He has hit me in the eye, splitting my eye. He busted my head open on a chair by shoving me. When I was pregnant, he would bust me in the face with water bottles.
“He has spit in my face, headbutted me, grabbed me by my neck and held me against the wall once. He has also always been verbally abusive…He would also withhold funds from me…I feel I need this protective order because I am scared for my sons and because I have no idea what John will do next.”
