CONCORD, N.H.—Assaulting someone by attempting to strangle them will be a felony in New Hampshire starting Saturday.
The law is in memory of Melissa Charbonneau of Manchester who was fatally shot by her estranged husband two days after he was released on bail for choking her. The law treats attempted strangulation as a second-degree assault and carries a sentence of 3 1/2 to seven years in prison.
Victims' advocates and law enforcement supported its passage. They say abusers use strangulation as a tactic to silence, coerce and control victims. They say it is frequently used, but not always easily detected.
The law gives police the power to detain suspected abusers to keep the violence from escalating.
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