SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- A Sioux Falls man is behind bars, charged with attempted murder. According to court documents, 59-year-old John Buckly Mitchell is accused of beating a woman so badly that she's hospitalized in critical condition. Penitentiary searches for new warden Investigators were unable to talk to the victim because she's in a coma after having surgery for a brain bleed. While she was still conscious, the affidavit says she told her children that Mitchell had strangled her and threatened to kill her. Mitchell has a lengthy criminal history and is scheduled to make his first court appearance this afternoon.