Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman introduces a manual on strangulation to police, medical providers and prosecutors, Jan. 15, 2023. (UK photo by Carter Skaggs)
LEXINGTON — Calling it a power-based and deadly crime, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is releasing a guide to help law enforcement, medical providers and prosecutors respond to cases of strangulation.
Coleman released the manual Wednesday on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington. It directs law enforcement on how to thoroughly document strangulation for successful prosecution, health care providers on how to investigate physical trauma and lawyers on how to prosecute.
“These cases can’t just be arrested and charged,” Coleman said. “These have to be prosecuted in the right way.”
Coleman said he wants to distribute the manual widely to police chiefs, prosecutors and medical staff who will encounter strangulation cases in the hopes more cases are prosecuted in Kentucky and that victims will feel able to come forward and report these assaults. It’s among the first such manuals in the country, according to Coleman’s office.
Among other guidance, the manual instructs prosecutors to prepare expert testimony to show juries the seriousness of strangulation, which can result in death within minutes.
Kentucky’s 2023 Domestic Violence Data Report shows that there were dozens of charges of strangulation across the state. The General Assembly made strangulation a felony in Kentucky in 2019. Strangulation in the first degree is a Class C felony and second degree strangulation is a Class D felony.
Before that, Sgt. Sarah Mantle with the Louisville Metro Police Department said, it was difficult and sometimes impossible to get proper justice for strangulation victims.
“Before the strangulation statue became law in 2019, I saw first-hand the struggles the law enforcement community across Kentucky faced when investigating strangulations,” said Mantle. “With this manual, agencies across Kentucky will finally have direction when responding to and investigating strangulations; training will be more consistent and victim-centered, and relations between law enforcement and survivors of domestic violence will continue to improve as officers learn the true dynamics involved in strangulations.”
The team who collaborated to write the manual included the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General Office of Victims Advocacy, the Kentucky Children’s Hospital, prosecutors and legal professionals, Mantle with LMPD, victim advocates, medical providers, pediatric forensic experts, victims rights lawyers and law students.
An ‘accurate predictor’ of escalation
While not every incident of strangulation results in death, Coleman said it’s a highly “accurate predictor” for escalation of violence, including murder and other assaults.
“Strangulation is one of the most accurate predictors for the subsequent homicide of victims of domestic violence,” said Coleman. “It’s the biggest clue that a murder will take place.”
He added: “People who strangle are some of the most dangerous criminals we face.”
Those are the same criminals, he said, who go on to kill their partners, children and police officers.
“Think of a firm handshake,” Coleman said. “It only takes about one-third of that pressure to injure a larynx, cause bleeding, bruising and swelling.”
According to the manual:
- About half of domestic violence homicide victims experienced strangulation at least once.
- Strangulation victims are about 800 times more likely to be killed by the perpetrator.
- About 34% of abused pregnant women in the country have been choked.
- A strangulation victim can lose consciousness within 10 seconds.
- A strangulation victim can die within 5 minutes.
- Fatal strangulations often don’t have outward physical evidence.
The medical challenges around strangulation
Dr. Christina Howard, the medical director of the Kentucky Children’s Kosair for Kids Center for Safe and Healthy Children and Families, said strangulation is a dangerous assault that sometimes shows little or no visible signs.
“As a physician, absence of physical exam findings in an injury that can be fatal is terrifying,” she said.
With “less force than it takes to open a soda can,” she said, a perp can seriously injure someone. This is even more serious when cases involve young children who cannot describe their assault. A section of the manual is devoted to pediatric anatomy and care of young children who have been strangled.
Strangulation victims, the manual says, often experience pain in their necks and throats, difficulty breathing, pain when swallowing and more.
The manual suggests health care providers ask patients if they are speaking in their normal voice, or if it has changed. It also recommends a panel of tests to determine any non-visible injuries, such as X-rays, head scans and MRIs, neck scans and more.
Coleman said “other states can now look to Kentucky as an example of how to address this serious crime.”
“It’s said that abusers use strangulation for power and control, and once they learn this, they will not stop,” he said. “Well, I couldn’t be prouder to stand here, sit here, in a moment with partners who have contributed more than a year of their lives to change that dynamic in this manual, to help make those abusers stop, to prevent those abusers. I’m confident their efforts will protect victims and help us prosecute criminals.”
Read the manual — “Responding to Strangulation in Kentucky: Guidelines for Prosecutors, Law Enforcement, Health Care Providers and Victim Advocates” — here.
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