A 46-year-old Montville man accused of critically injuring his sister-in-law by beating her with a shovel during an extended altercation at their Route 32 home last month pleaded not guilty Monday in New London Superior Court.

Jicun Jicun, who is being held in lieu of $250,000 on charges of first degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct, was assisted by a Tibetan interpreter when he made his first appearance in the court where major crimes are heard. He works as a housekeeper at Mohegan Sun, according to his court file.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein continued the case to April 1 before reminding Jicun he is to have no contact, directly or through a third party, with the victim, 25-year-old Dolker Kyi. She suffered a fractured skull, broken left wrist, possible permanent damage to her left eye and ear and multiple lacerations in the Feb. 21 incident, according to a report by Montville Police Officer Matthew J. Shepard.

According to the report, Shepard was dispatched to the Henny Penny on Route 32 for a report of two people fighting. Multiple people pointed to the car, where the victim was lying in the back seat, her head and clothes covered in blood from wounds to her head, face and arms. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse weak, according to the report.

A woman at the scene told Shepard that Kyi was her sister and she had driven her there from their nearby apartment. Police went to the home, where they found large amounts of blood in the snow and the entry way. They found and arrested Jicun, who had blood on his right cheek. He stated, “It’s OK, I think I have too much to drink.”

A woman told the police she had heard a man and woman yelling, running up and down the stairs and throwing things for approximately 45 minutes. She said something hit the door to her room and when she opened it to see what happened, she saw Jicun strike the victim three times with a garden shovel as she laid curled up on the ground.