Husband charged after wife kills self

A Brewton man, whose wife took her own life on Tuesday, May 14, was arrested Monday on domestic violence charges for allegedly beating her three days before she committed suicide.

Donnie H. Polk Jr., 64, 15 Camp Williams Circle, in the Roberts community, was charged with Domestic Violence III – assault, kidnapping II and interfering with a domestic violence call.

Polk was released from the Escambia County Detention Center Tuesday on $50,000 bond.

According to the arrest warrants, Polk is accused of striking Charity Joanne Polk on Saturday, May 9, with a closed fist to her face and chest area multiple times causing bruising and swelling. He is also accused of hindering his wife's attempts to dial 911 by using a .410 shotgun to smash his wife's cell phone and also broke the landline telephone. He is also accused of abducting her.

Deputies had responded to the Polk residence on Monday May 13 but reported Mrs. Polk did not want to press charges or pursue the matter.

She died the following day.

During Tuesday's bond hearing District Judge Eric Coale asked him if he could afford an attorney or would he like one appointed.

"I'm paying for a funeral too," Polk replied.

As a condition of his bond, Polk is prohibited from possessing any firearms.

Charity Joanne 'Sissy' Rydozwski Polk, 44, was born at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., and spent her childhood in Century.

She graduated from Flomaton High School and attended Jefferson Davis Community College where she was a member of the JD Jazz dance group in the mid 1990s.

Funeral arrangements are still pending. Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in Brewton will direct and burial will be held at Union Hill Cemetery in Bradley.

Mrs. Polk is survived by her husband Don Polk; her mother, Anne Sims of Monroeville; her daddy, Paul Rydzowski of Bradley; her biological father, Ronald Morgan of Byrneville; one step daughter, Katie Jordan of Gulf Shores; two brothers, Ronny Rydzowski of Satsuma and Tyler Morgan of Berrydale; two sisters, Elizabeth Anne 'Beth' Higdon of Brewton and Dani Grant of Flomaton; step siblings, Leslie Anderson of Hobson, Ala., Rod Sims of Monroeville, Brandon Adams of Paxton, Fla., Eric McLeod of Baker and Daphne Taylor of Flomaton; her grandmothers, Frances Stanton Lee of Century and Gloria Rydzowski of Flomaton; and three step grandchildren.