A Winthrop woman was behind bars Wednesday, accused of hitting the father of her children in the face with an ax.

Tiffany M. Bragg, 32, was charged with aggravated assault after Winthrop police responded to a domestic disturbance Tuesday on Mount Pisgah Road and found Christopher Barter holding a plastic bag with frozen meat in it to injuries on his cheek.

Barter told police Bragg hit him in the face with an ax before putting it in the trunk of her car and taking their two children and the dog and driving away, according to an affidavit by Winthrop police Officer Kenneth Tabor.

Tabor reported seeing a large bruise and swelling that partially closed Barter’s left eye. Barter told police Bragg had been chopping at the lawn mower with the ax before striking him, Tabor’s affidavit says.

The affidavit was filed in the Kennebec Unified Criminal Docket case before Bragg’s initial court appearance on Wednesday. Her bail amount was unavailable Wednesday afternoon.

One of the children called 911 from the vehicle to say his mother was having trouble breathing and driving, Tabor said, and police eventually stopped the vehicle on Main Street in Monmouth.

Tabor said Bragg’s hand and wrist had blood on it, but it did not appear to be her blood.

She told police she grabbed an ax to defend herself after Barter shoved her to the ground outside a trailer.

Barter told police the two argued about money, and Bragg started hitting the trailer with an ax, but that didn’t bother him until she started swinging it at the lawn mower. He said he tried to get it away from her.

Bragg told police the couple had been drinking.

Police found a blood-spattered flat-head ax with a 3-foot handle in the trunk of Bragg’s vehicle.

Neighbors told police the couple had been fighting. Tabor said he had been to the home previously because of reports of domestic disputes involving the couple.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams