David Leon Bluhm, 53, of Rochester pleaded guilty to felony domestic assault by strangulation as part of a plea agreement on Friday in Mower County District Court. He initially pleaded not guilty on April 19.

A charge of misdemeanor domestic assault will be dismissed at the sentencing.

According to court documents, police responded to a domestic disturbance call on Feb. 9. An officer met with a woman at a residence in the 3700 block of 13th Street Northeast in Austin, where she had gone after Bluhm assaulted her at her residence in the 2100 block of Fourth Avenue Southeast. She had told Bluhm earlier in the day that she wanted him to leave the residence, which made him angry. She then told him she was leaving and called her adult daughter, at which point Bluhm squeezed her neck with both arms and pushed his thumbs into her larynx. Her daughter heard her scream and called the police.

The officer observed and photographed redness around her neck.

Court documents state that officers arrested Bluhm, who said, “I don’t think I did anything wrong. Yes, I grabbed her by the throat, but I lost my temper.”

Bluhm will be sentenced on Dec. 27.