With each throw, one of the false orderlies dropped to the floor, clutching at a neck where the skin showed marks of constriction as if a steel cord were tightening.
Death was happening as each fake orderly had it's airway tightened. 
mnli hypothesis: Death was happening as each fake orderly had it's airway tightened.  premise: With each throw, one of the false orderlies dropped to the floor, clutching at a neck where the skin showed marks of constriction as if a steel cord were tightening.