Turner was originally charged with Home Invasion 1st Degree, a 20 year felony, Assault by Strangulation, a 10 year felony, and being a Habitual Offender Continue Reading »
Turner was originally charged with Home Invasion 1st Degree, a 20 year felony, Assault by Strangulation, a 10 year felony, and being a Habitual Offender Second Offense, which would add 50% to each of the previous two charges. He pleaded guilty reduced charges of Attempted Assault by Strangulation, a 5 year felony, and Attempted Larceny in a Building, a 1 year misdemeanor.
Turner will have 24 months of supervision upon release in addition to $1,148 fines and costs.
“Research shows that women who experience strangulation are up to seven times more likely to become victims of homicide,” Montgomery said in news release about Continue Reading »
“Research shows that women who experience strangulation are up to seven times more likely to become victims of homicide,” Montgomery said in news release about the award. “We believe this program can serve as a national model for addressing a serious crime perpetrated by abusers who have traditionally been very hard to prosecute.”
A punch to the face may leave bruises and cuts to a victim’s face as well as to the attacker’s hand. Strangulation can be even more painful and terrifying than mere blows, bringing the victim near the point of death. But the clues of a strangulation attack may be subtle. Too often, the attackers were never brought to justice because of a lack evidence.
Under the program, first responders take victims of domestic violence to a hospital or advocacy center to be examined by a nurse. A specialized exam including high-definition photographic documentation and DNA collection is given — enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case even if the victim doesn’t want to testify.
Image: http://www.change.org/petitions/petition-to-make-strangulation-a-felony-charge-oregon
Far more cases have been deemed prosecutable since a 2012 pilot program was conducted. At least 500 new cases of strangulation would likely be received by the county once the program went county-wide, the office stated last year.
Of all the cases reviewed under the program to date, 38 percent resulted in convictions and sentences ranging from three months in jail to prison terms of up to eight years, the office reports.
Because many women who are killed by their partners were strangled by them in previous domestic-violence attacks, it’s likely that the program is also saving lives.
Both Heiser and Seaton presented their opening arguments in the late morning after which the prosecution called forth its first witness. Nurse Beth Kuehn was Continue Reading »
Both Heiser and Seaton presented their opening arguments in the late morning after which the prosecution called forth its first witness.
Nurse Beth Kuehn was called to the stand. She was the nurse on duty at Wrangell Medical Center the night in December 2011 the victim was brought in with injuries.
The second witness was Forensic Nurse Examiner Angelia Trujillo of Anchorage. She testified telephonically, or over the telephone.
Trujillo was brought in as an expert witness in the case—meaning she testified as an expert on a particular subject, rather than because she was directly involved in the incident.
Trujillo has specialized knowledge about strangulation, sexual assault, and trauma. When questioned by the prosecution, she said that after reading the reports and reviewing the photographs, she believes the victim was strangled during the alleged attack.
However, when questioned by the defense about injuries Marshall suffered that evening, she said it was possible that his injuries were sustained in self-defense.
The trial is scheduled to continue throughout the week.
The jury has yet to hear from Officer James Nelson of the police department, who responded to the call. It also expects to hear from the victim.
“We know that domestic violence is extremely costly,” Berthiaume said. “As health care providers and mental health care providers it is important that we can Continue Reading »
“We know that domestic violence is extremely costly,” Berthiaume said. “As health care providers and mental health care providers it is important that we can quickly intervene.”
There are close to two million injuries and 1,300 deaths annually related to domestic violence as well as $4.1 billion in direct medical and mental health care costs, according to information provided by Berthiaume.
Visible indicators of strangulation don’t often appear within the first 24 hours after the act, Berthiaume said.
“It’s really important that we become knowledgeable in strangulation,” Berthiaume said. “It really takes putting on that hat and looking at these with a fine toothed comb and a strong eye and some skills that I’ll be able to provide for you and you’ll feel more well-versed in this matter.”
Berthiaume first became involved with assault victims while working at Tacoma General Hospital in the late 1990s.
“I went to an information session and was immediately drawn in,” Berthiaume said. “I knew that we needed to have a response that was more than just on-call, that it needed to be comprehensive … and that it needed to be more than sexual assault, it needed to include domestic violence.”
As a result, she completed her bachelor’s degree a master’s degree while working at Tacoma General. During that time, she became an expert on sexual assault and domestic violence, all while helping the unit at the hospital grow.
She now works in the emergency department at St. Joseph’s as a forensic nurse consultant.
Berthiaume explained the signs to watch for, the questions to ask and how to approach victims who may have been strangled.
She also talked about how victims she sees are mostly women because men often don’t report domestic violence to medical providers.
“You need to ask the question, has anybody been hurting you? You would be surprised at the things they will tell you,” Berthiaume said. “It’s astounding to hear the accounts when someone starts with ‘I fell.’”
Often patients won’t disclose the truth, in part or in full, the first time she asks.
If the evidence — marks on the front or back of the neck, black eyes, blood in the eyes, breathing difficulties or a raspy voice, as a few examples — don’t match the victim’s account, Berthiaume will say so.
If that doesn’t elicit a response, she tries another tactic, because it is important to treat victims as well as offer them help to get away from their abusers.
“I often say, and this is very strong, but it works, I say, ‘I know you don’t want to leave him but I have been doing this work for some time and I can tell you this won’t stop … there’s either two ways it will stop, you will either find a way to separate from the violence or he will stop it by killing you.’ I generally get a full disclosure or nearly a full disclosure when I say that.”
Then she leaves the patient alone to think about things then checks back in on them.
Berthiaume explained to the audience that domestic violence victims struggle to leave for a variety of reasons and a victim is at greatest risk when attempting to get away from the abuser.
Sometimes, Berthiaume said, doctors, nurses and others who provide treatment are afraid to ask the questions when they suspect domestic violence because they don’t know how to intervene.
That is why she speaks on the topic, specifically strangulation, because time is critical.
The effects of strangulation take time to develop and patients have been found dead up to 36 hours after being strangled.
Strangulation, Berthiaume said, is the most lethal and insidious form of domestic violence because symptoms and evidence often do not immediately present themselves unless someone is trained to look for them.
“On the first day strangulation occurs, unless it is extremely forceful, there are no external indications,” Berthiaume said. “It takes a lot of patience to work these cases.”
In fact, 62 percent of strangulation victims have no visible injuries on the first day, however 50 percent have changes in their voices, swallowing and breathing problems.
Berthiaume went through a series of photographs, describing the situations the victims were in, how they were strangled and other injuries suffered at the hands of abusers.
She explained what police and firefighter-EMTs can look for when responding to reports of domestic violence.
This knowledge could help save lives but Berthiaume said it’s not easy work to do.
Berthiaume said forensic nurses often burn out in two years or less.
“When you’re in the work and you’re seeing how important the work is and the impact it can have … you cannot drop that ball,” she said. “The work has been extremely challenging and extremely rewarding.”
Harmel followed Kalaher to her vehicle and got inside, Duty said, where he took her to an ATM and demanded she withdraw money from her Continue Reading »
Harmel followed Kalaher to her vehicle and got inside, Duty said, where he took her to an ATM and demanded she withdraw money from her bank account. In the early afternoon, police found Kalaher’s body in her parked car, which was located in a strip center across from Walmart, she said.
In September 2009, the Cedar Park Police Department requested information from the public on Kalaher, but the case remained unsolved.
Duty said the case came to her attention when a county victim coordinator requested she contend Harmel’s parole for another unrelated conviction. Harmel was convicted in 2010 for credit card abuse and tampering with evidence in which he pleaded guilty and agreed to a maximum sentence.
“I started to review the case and thought how interesting it was that we were protesting someone’s parole on a tampering case when a young woman was killed,” Duty said.
Having Harmel agree to the maximum sentence seemed odd, Duty said, which she surmised related to Harmel’s guilt in Kalaher’s slaying.
“I believe that he thought at the time that if he took the maximum sentence we would all just call it even, and this case wouldn’t be pursued,” Duty said.
The county’s medical examiner ruled Kalaher’s death as strangulation, though Duty said Kalaher did not die immediately from the assault. The case file noted that she survived between nine to 12 hours after the assault took place.
“One witness actually saw her at one point standing outside of her car,” Duty said.
The evidence led Duty to contact Dr. Dean Hawley, a forensic pathologist and leading researcher on strangulation. Duty said after sending Hawley the autopsy report and crime scene photos, he concluded it was a “textbook case” of delayed death due to strangulation.
“He just was very, very clear that this was a clear-cut case, and that he was willing to testify in trial to explain to a jury exactly how Jessica died,” Duty said.
According to an obituary that ran in the Austin American-Statesman, Kalaher was born in Austin and graduated from Pflugerville High School. She received a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University in 2007. She worked as a substitute teacher and manager at an H-E-B grocery store while awaiting a permanent teaching position.
