Domestic battery by strangulation in Florida is defined under Florida Statutes Section 784.041(2)(a). It involves knowingly and intentionally impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a family or household member or a person with whom the perpetrator is in a dating relationship, by applying pressure on the throat or neck or by blocking the nose or mouth.
Elements of the Crime:
Intentional Act: The act must be intentional.
Impediment: The act must impede normal breathing or blood circulation.
Relationship: The victim must be a family or household member or in a dating relationship with the perpetrator.
In Harris v. State, the Court additionally recognized that the strangulation happens when the offender applies pressure on the throat or neck or by blocking the nose or mouth in violation of Florida Statute Section 784.041(2)(a). Further, the statute merely requires that a defendant impede the victim’s breath, not cut it off entirely. The state need not present evidence that the victim became unconscious or suffered injury based on lack of circulation. Evidence that the victim’s “normal breathing” was impeded is sufficient.
See also Lopez-Macaya v. State, (“[T]he State need not prove great bodily harm to establish the crime of domestic battery by strangulation; instead, the State can prove this crime by establishing defendant’s actions created a risk of great bodily harm.”) Thus, the state merely needs to show only the “risk” of great bodily harm.