New strangulation law aimed at domestic abusers

The couple get into a heated argument that turns physical when he grabs her by the neck and squeezes as hard as he can, making her lose consciousness before he finally relinquishes his grip.
If he continued the stranglehold a little longer, he could be facing a murder charge. Now, under a law signed last October by Gov. Tom Wolf that became effective Dec. 27, he faces a felony charge of strangulation. The new state law defines strangulation as the person knowingly or intentionally impeding the breathing or circulation of the blood of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck or blocking the nose and mouth.
Pennsylvania joins about three dozen other states across the country in charging abusers with non-fatal strangulation.
“Strangulation is one of the most dangerous forms of domestic violence,” said Kristin Clingerman, Washington County assistant district attorney who is the lead prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Specialized Victims Investigative and Prosecution Unit. “Women who are strangled are more likely to be a victim of a homicide.”
Tierne Ewing, 48, was reportedly held against her will and assaulted by her estranged husband, Kevin Lee Ewing, for almost two weeks in late June and early July. Kevin Ewing, 47, was free on $100,000 bond and on electronic monitoring as he awaited trial on charges including aggravated assault and kidnapping when he kidnapped her at gunpoint from his mother’s home Aug. 30. He took her to a barn in West Finley Township where he shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself. He died the following day at a Pittsburgh hospital.
“Tierne Ewing was strangled,” Clingerman said. “But before this law, I don’t know that anyone thought to look for the signs.”
“Putting pressure on the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe shuts down the flow of air and oxygen to the brain as well as blood flow,” she added. “It only takes a 11 pounds of pressure over 11 seconds to render someone unconscious. And if the grip isn’t released within four minutes, it leads to brain death.”
Strangling can lead to death, even if does not happen immediately, Clingerman said.
“The victim could die 72 hours later from other complications, such as blood clots that no one knew existed,” she added. “Their throats could later swell and they can suffocate.” Clingerman, in her role as prosecutor in the special victims unit, had been traveling through the county educating police about the new law that will not actually make it onto the pages of the state Crimes Code until 2018.
Canonsburg police may have been the first department in the county to charge a suspect with strangulation under the new law, although after the fact, said Chief Alex Coghill.
The officer initially charged Adam Snatchko, 21, of Canonsburg, with aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and resisting arrest for Jan. 12 assault of his former girlfriend at her East Pitt Street home. It was at his preliminary hearing that an assistant district attorney told police about the strangulation law. The complaint was amended to include the new charge and Snatchko waived his case to court March 1 before District Judge David Mark.
Coghill said police had not been made aware of the new law until informed by the assistant district attorney, but said it makes sense.
“Putting your hands around someone’s throat is not too far away from killing them,” Coghill said.
Greene Regional police Chief Michael Natale, whose department patrols Morris, Perry and Wayne townships in Greene County, said they haven’t had a domestic dispute involving strangulation, but it’s a good law for police officers.
“This is obviously a law I’m fully in support of,” Natale said. “There’s no excuse to commit an act of violence like this in general, but the more that these laws have teeth and enforcement ability, the safer the community is going to be.”
He was interested to see how other police departments that have experienced such cases are reacting.
“If we have something we haven’t had before, we look to see what the proper thing to do is from the colleagues who have done it,” Natale said.
The new law also covers suffocation, where the aggressor puts a hand or an object like a pillow over the nose and mouth of the victim.
“I try to explain to police what to look for in the victims, telling them to start with the head and work their way down. They should look for missing hair because abusers also pull out hair,” Clingerman said. “Look for lumps on the back of the head. The abuser may have put a forearm against the throat of the victim, pushing them against a wall. Look for handprints or any ligature marks from things like shoestrings.”
Clingerman said the victim may have broken blood vessels in their eyes, cheeks or mouth.
Neurological problems can also be caused by strangulation, causing the victims to become combative, Clingerman said.
“They can get amnesia because of the lack of oxygen to the brain,” she said. “Victims can become depressed or even develop psychosis in the days or weeks after the strangulation.”
While statistically more offenders are men, Clingerman said women also can be accused of strangulation. Monongahela police Chief Brian Tempest said one of his officers charged Amy Wallace, 32, of Elizabeth, with strangulation, simple assault and disorderly conduct stemming from an April 18 incident in the city.
“The first person we charged was a man, but the second was a female who strangled her boyfriend,” Tempest said. “The new law is more applicable.”
Recently, Clingerman met with members of Washington County Chiefs of Police Association to go over the new law. She said it is important if officers think someone has been choked, they go back and see the victim 24 to 48 hours after the alleged assault because signs like bruising may be more evident.
“With all that emotional distress, sometimes the victim will not remember right away what happened,” she said. “It is a terrifying event for the victim.”
Clingerman said the sentencing guidelines have not yet been set for the new law. Police have the right to arrest a suspect without a warrant if there are signs of strangulation.
“The abusers have the capability to watch someone die as they see the life and spark go out of a victim’s eyes,” Clingerman said. “It is not choking, but much more serious. Choking is what you do on food.”