The fiancée of University of Texas head men’s basketball coach Chris Beard said Friday that he did not strangle her and she did not want him arrested, a stark turn around from the story that emerged early this month.

Beard, 49, was arrested on December 12 after the Austin Police Department reportedly responded to a “disturbance hot shot,” which the department says are incidents that “are in progress and are an immediate threat to life and/or public safety (i.e. shootings, stabbings, rapes, riots).”

Fiancée Randi Trew said through her attorney, Randy Leavitt, that she was “deeply saddened” by what has happened and that Beard was acting in self-defense, the Associated Press reported.

“Chris and I are deeply saddened that we have brought negative attention upon our family, friends, and the University of Texas, among others,” Trew said in the statement. “As Chris’ fiancée and biggest supporter, I apologize for the role I played in this unfortunate event. I realize that my frustration, when breaking his glasses, initiated a physical struggle between Chris and myself.”

“Chris did not strangle me, and I told that to law enforcement that evening,” the statement continued. “Chris has stated that he was acting in self-defense, and I do not refute that. I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted. We appreciate everyone’s support and prayers during this difficult time.”

The arrest affidavit from earlier this month said that Beard and his fiancée were having relationship issues and during a heated conversation, he “snapped” and “became super violent,” according to Trew.

The incident began after Beard refused to communicate with Trew because he was mad at her, and when he came home, he went to the guest room in the house, the fiancée said. She went into the guest room to check on him. He was reportedly lying on the bed, twirling a pair of reading glasses in his hands when she grabbed them and broke them. Things quickly escalated from there.

Beard allegedly went to the main bedroom where he slapped the glasses Trew was wearing off her face. When the two were supposedly lying in bed together, she attempted to retrieve her glasses, and she claims that was when she was thrown off the bed. She attempted to gather her things, but reportedly couldn’t see because she didn’t have her glasses. She claims that he stood behind her and put his arm around her neck.

The woman said that she did not feel safe after “he choked me, threw me off the bed, bit me, bruises all over my leg, throwing me around, and going nuts.”

When asked by law enforcement if his choking her “impeded her breathing,” she replied, “yes, I could not breathe, he did it for probably like 5 seconds.”

When Beard was interviewed by police, he said that he had audio recordings that indicated that he was not the primary aggressor. When police asked if he was willing to share the recordings, he said no.

A University of Idaho history professor is suing a TikTok personality for claiming that she was behind the murder of four students at the school.

The so-called “cyber-sleuth” Ashley Guillard accused professor Rebecca Scofield of the crimes. Guillard claims that she “solves crimes online” by using psychic readings.

Guillard claims that Scofield was having a relationship with one of the four students who was murdered and planned the murders with another student because the other person in the relationship wanted to end things.

“The statements made about Professor Scofield are false, plain and simple,” Scofield’s attorney Wendy J. Olson said in a statement. “What’s even worse is that these untrue statements create safety issues for the Professor and her family.”

“They also further compound the trauma that the families of the victims are experiencing and undermine law enforcement efforts to find the people responsible in order to provide answers to the families and the public,” the statement continued. “Professor Scofield twice sent cease and desist letters to Ms. Guillard, but Ms. Guillard has continued to make false statements, knowing they are false. Thus, this lawsuit became necessary to protect Professor Scofield’s safety and her reputation.”

“On or about November 28, 2022, Guillard posted six TikTok videos to her account in which she falsely stated that Professor Scofield, the chair of the history department, was responsible for the four students’ deaths,” the lawsuit said. “Two of the TikToks directly and falsely state that Professor Scofield ordered the execution of the four students. Three of the TikToks either falsely implied or directly stated that Professor Scofield had been involved in a relationship with one of the murdered students, K.G.”

The lawsuit said that the accusations have caused serious security concerns for the professor and her family and that they have experienced financial loss as a result.

“She fears for her life and for the lives of her family members,” the complaint states. “She has incurred costs, including costs to install a security system and security cameras at her residence. She fears that Guillard’s false statements may motivate someone to cause harm to her or her family members.”

Guillard responded to the lawsuit by saying that she is “not stopping,” and questioned why the professor needed to a team of lawyers “if she’s so innocent.”

“I don’t care what y’all say, Rebecca Scofield killed (the victims) and she was the one to initiate the plan,” Guillard said.

Idaho police have warned that online harassment will not be tolerated in this case and that it could result in criminal charges.

“Investigators have been monitoring online activity related to this ongoing and active case and are aware of the large amount of rumors and misinformation being shared as well as harassing and threatening behavior toward potentially involved parties,” Moscow police said. “Anyone engaging in threats or harassment whether in person, online or otherwise needs to understand that they could be subjecting themselves to criminal charges.”