KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha man is accused of choking his live-in girlfriend twice during a violent outburst that led to a 911 call and a police response early Wednesday morning.
Taiwan Osborne Williams, 46, was charged Wednesday in Kenosha County Circuit Court with one felony count of strangulation and suffocation and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, both with domestic abuse enhancers.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to North Point Crossing Apartments shortly after midnight on June 25 for a report of a domestic disturbance. The caller told dispatchers that a man named Taiwan Williams had threatened to kill her after choking her.
When officers arrived, they spoke with the victim, who said she and Williams had been drinking and playing cards with friends when an argument erupted after she asked a guest about his zodiac sign. The friends left, and Williams allegedly accused her of flirting and followed her into the bedroom, continuing to yell at her.
The woman told police she began dialing 911 when Williams charged at her, saying, “Bitch, you’re calling 911, I’ll kill you,” before putting one hand around her throat and choking her for 5–6 seconds, impeding her breathing. She grabbed a kitchen knife in fear, but Williams allegedly choked her again until she dropped the knife, which fell into the sink.
Photographs taken by police documented visible redness and a scratch on the woman’s neck. She told officers she feared Williams would return and kill her, prompting her to hide in the basement of the complex after calling 911 a second time.
Williams denied any assault, claiming that he used his forearm defensively when the victim entered his personal space. He also said the woman was drunk and acting erratically, placing a kitchen knife in her back pocket.
One of the guests who had left before the physical altercation confirmed that Williams became “verbally irate” and began arguing with the victim before they exited the apartment.
Officers determined that Williams was the predominant aggressor and arrested him at the scene.
Williams appeared in court Wednesday where Court Commissioner William Michel II set cash bail at $1,000. He was released from custody and ordered to have no contact with the victim. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 8.
If convicted on both counts, Williams faces up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the felony charge, plus up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor.
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