New court date for Nowata man accused of beating of pregnant woman

NOWATA, Okla. - A new court date has been set for a Nowata man arrested last summer for the alleged beating of his pregnant girlfriend – a beating that investigators said resulted in the death of her child.

During what was to be a preliminary hearing for 29-year-old Matthew Cartwright on Friday, a Nowata County judge passed the date of the hearing to January next year in hopes the court may be supplied with a medical examiner's report.

Cartwright became the subject of an investigation in July when his girlfriend was admitted to the Jane Phillips Medical Center emergency room after he allegedly hit her face and punched and kicked her in the stomach, according to police.

This happened a few days after a sheriff's deputy found him pacing outside a vehicle parked alongside the road. He told the deputy his girlfriend – seated in the vehicle – was pregnant with another man's baby and had been smoking meth.

Later, the girlfriend filed a protective order against Cartwright, angering him.

The case took a turn in August when an infant's remains were found in downtown Bartlesville  and were discovered to belong to the girlfriend. Investigators said the death was a miscarriage resulting from Cartwright beating her.

During Friday's hearing, Cartwright's attorney asked for a reduction in his $150,000 bond, a request which the judge denied.

Cartwright is due back in court on Jan. 9, 2013.