Charged With Strangulation in Virginia? Read This Before You Do Anything Else
The phone calls I get on strangulation cases sound different from the others.
There is a particular kind of fear in a person’s voice when the word on the warrant is not “assault” but a felony. Often the incident started as an argument at home. There may have been no weapon, no ambulance, and sometimes no mark anyone can point to. And yet someone is now facing a felony that can carry years in prison.
I bring more than 31 years of criminal defense experience to defending domestic violence and felony cases in the courthouses across Northern Virginia, and I will tell you what I tell every client who calls: an arrest is not a conviction, and strangulation is a far more difficult charge for the Commonwealth to prove than most people believe when they first read the warrant. I have obtained dismissals in strangulation and domestic assault cases, including cases charged as felonies. I cannot promise you an outcome, and I never will. What I can do is take the case apart, element by element, the way the Commonwealth will have to put it together.
If you want to see how strangulation fits within the bigger picture of domestic violence charges in Virginia, start with my Fairfax domestic violence defense overview.
What Virginia Law Actually Requires — Virginia Code § 18.2-51.6
Here is where these cases are won and lost, so it is worth understanding exactly what the Commonwealth has to prove.
Strangulation and suffocation live in one statute, Virginia Code § 18.2-51.6, which defines two related offenses. Both are Class 6 felonies:
- Strangulation is impeding another person’s blood circulation or breathing by applying pressure to the neck, without consent, and causing wounding or bodily injury.
- Suffocation is impeding another person’s blood circulation or breathing by blocking or obstructing the airway, without consent, and causing wounding or bodily injury.
Whichever version is charged, the Commonwealth must prove every one of these, beyond a reasonable doubt:
- That you applied pressure to the neck, or blocked or obstructed the airway;
- That you did so knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully;
- That you did so without the other person’s consent;
- That it actually impeded their blood circulation or breathing; and
- That it resulted in wounding or bodily injury.
Those are five separate hurdles. Miss one, and the felony does not stand. My job is to find the one the Commonwealth cannot clear.
Why the Charge Gets Filed So Readily — and Where It Gets Weak
One thing surprises almost everyone: how little visible injury these cases sometimes involve.
Virginia courts read “bodily injury” broadly. It does not take a broken bone, an emergency room visit, or a dramatic photograph. Redness, soreness, internal swelling, even a brief loss of consciousness can satisfy that element. So officers arriving after the fact will often charge strangulation on the strength of one person’s account and whatever they can document at the scene, and when the person named is a family or household member, they frequently stack it on top of assault and battery against a family or household member (§ 18.2-57.2) to raise the exposure.
But the same breadth that makes the charge easy to file is where it becomes vulnerable. “Bodily injury” is broad, not automatic. Virginia appeals courts have thrown out strangulation convictions where the Commonwealth could not actually prove an injury — no bruising, no pain, no medical finding, nothing that survived scrutiny. That is not a technicality. It is an element, and it is the Commonwealth’s burden.
What You Are Facing
Strangulation is a Class 6 felony even on a first offense. That means up to five years in prison, or, at the court’s discretion, up to twelve months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. A felony conviction follows you: your record, your professional license, your security clearance, and your firearm rights under Virginia law.
I do not put that in front of you to frighten you. I put it there because the seriousness is exactly why the early decisions matter so much, and why they should be made with a lawyer who has done this before.
The Days After the Arrest
For most of my clients, the hardest stretch is not the trial. It is the first days.
You may have been served with an emergency protective order that keeps you out of your own home and away from the other person. You may be worried about your children, your job, your clearance. You are trying to understand a system you have never been inside, while the clock on the evidence is already running. This is the moment to get someone working for you, because what happens in these first days shapes everything after.
How I Defend These Cases
No two strangulation cases are alike, and I do not predict outcomes from an arrest warrant or a phone call. What I can tell you is where these cases tend to break.
The injury element. Because the law requires proof of bodily injury, the medical and forensic record is everything. Fairfax and other Northern Virginia hospitals use trained forensic nurse examiners who produce detailed reports built for prosecution — and those same reports can be read closely for what they assume, what they leave out, and whether the documented findings actually match the allegation. For more on who performs these exams and what the evidence kit collects, see strangulation forensic exams and evidence kits in Virginia.
Intent. The statute requires a knowing, intentional act. Chaotic struggles, accidental contact, and ambiguous circumstances all bear on whether the Commonwealth can prove that.
Credibility and consistency. These cases often rest on a single account. I test that account against the 911 recording, the body-worn camera footage, the text messages, the medical records, and the physical evidence. Inconsistencies matter.
Self-defense and the full story. Physical encounters are rarely one-sided. Who started it, and what really happened, often looks very different once the whole context is in front of the court.
Constitutional issues. Unlawful searches, improper questioning, and statements taken in violation of your rights can be challenged and, in the right case, kept out entirely.
I prepare every one of these cases as if it is going to trial, because that preparation is what creates leverage. Prosecutors deal differently with a defense attorney who has tried these cases and is ready to do it again.
Why It Matters Who Handles Your Case
When you hire my office, you get me. I review the evidence, I meet with you, and I try your case — it is not handed to a junior associate. My office is just minutes from the Fairfax County Courthouse, and after more than 31 years handling criminal cases I know the judges, the prosecutors, and how these cases actually move. On a felony like this one, that experience is not a luxury.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is strangulation really a felony even if there were no marks?
Yes. It is a Class 6 felony, and visible marks are not required — Virginia courts have accepted even soft-tissue neck injury as enough. That is also exactly why the medical and forensic evidence deserves hard scrutiny, because “broad” is not the same as “automatic.”
The other person doesn’t want to pursue it. Does that end the case?
No, not by itself. In Virginia the Commonwealth prosecutes the case, not the person who reported it. The prosecutor may weigh that person’s wishes, but the decision to go forward is the Commonwealth’s.
Can a strangulation charge be reduced or dismissed?
It can, depending on the facts. I have obtained dismissals in strangulation and domestic assault cases. Whether that is realistic in yours depends on what the evidence shows about injury, intent, and credibility — which is why it has to be looked at early and closely.
How soon should I call?
As soon as you can. These cases turn on medical, forensic, and digital evidence that is best reviewed while it is fresh, and the earliest decisions carry the most weight.
Talk to Me About Your Case
If you have been charged with strangulation or suffocation under Virginia Code § 18.2-51.6 anywhere in Northern Virginia, you do not have to face it alone, and you do not have to face it without understanding it.
Call my office for a confidential consultation. We will go through the allegations, look at the evidence together, and I will give you an honest read on where you stand and what can be done.
About the Attorney: Sheryl Shane
Sheryl Shane is a Virginia criminal defense attorney with more than 31 years of criminal defense experience, defending clients throughout Northern Virginia since 2000 with a concentration in domestic violence and serious felony cases in Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William, Loudoun, and Alexandria. A former arbitration judge and Guardian ad Litem, she maintains a deliberately small practice and personally handles every case she takes—from the first consultation through final resolution. Her office is located just minutes from the Fairfax County Courthouse.
This page was written and reviewed by Attorney Sheryl Shane and reflects Virginia law current through the 2026 Special Session I.
Contact Sheryl Shane
Sheryl Shane
Northern Virginia Domestic Violence Defense Attorney
Virginia Criminal Attorney
Office Address
4015 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone
(703) 582-8119
Serving clients throughout Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Alexandria, and Northern Virginia.
This page provides general information about Virginia law and is not legal advice for any specific situation. Reading it, or contacting Virginia Criminal Attorney through this website, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and information sent before a formal engagement is established may not be treated as privileged or confidential.