Headlock leads to woman’s probation
A 34-year-old Austin woman who reportedly held a man in a headlock until he couldn’t breathe was sentenced to five years probation on Friday.
Marion Elizabeth Silva was sentenced on one count felony domestic assault in Mower County District Court. One count of domestic assault by strangulation was dismissed when Silva entered a Norgaard plea in July. A Norgaard plea can be entered when the defendant wants to plead guilty but is unable to recall facts due to intoxication or amnesia.
The incident took place around 2 a.m. on July 13, when Silva returned from a bar with the man and a friend. According to a court complaint, a misunderstanding led to Silva putting the man in a headlock. When their friend walked into the kitchen, Silva was holding the man in a headlock on the kitchen floor near a pool of blood coming from the man’s ear, according to a court complaint.
The witness told police Silva “trapped” the man in the master bedroom, putting him in another headlock until his face turned purple. The man told officers he “had a hard time breathing” while he was in the headlock.
According to court documents, Silva has three domestic violence related convictions in the last 10 years.