A Palm Coast woman told deputies she spent roughly five to six hours trapped in her own home on May 18 while being assaulted and strangled by a man she feared would kill her. One day later, that man, 25-year-old Damien Irven, was in handcuffs in Daytona Beach and on his way to face charges in Flagler County.
Investigators say Irven assaulted and held the pregnant victim inside a Palm Coast residence on May 18, then called her the next day and threatened her life if she reached out for help. A warrant was issued, and deputies later found him in Daytona Beach. Irven was arrested on May 19 and remains in Volusia County custody while authorities arrange his extradition to Flagler County.
According to a Flagler County Sheriff's Office news release, the ordeal started with an argument over text messages and spiraled into hours of alleged violence. Deputies say Irven battered and strangled the woman and blocked her from leaving the home. She reported that she could not breathe at times and believed she was going to be killed.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit teamed up with the Daytona Beach Police Department and located Irven at an apartment complex in Daytona Beach on May 19, where he was taken into custody.
As reported by WFTV, Irven now faces a stack of felony charges. Those include domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated battery on a pregnant person, tampering with a witness, felony battery based on a prior conviction, robbery by sudden snatching and false imprisonment. The sheriff's office also noted he has a previous domestic battery conviction in Flagler County.
Sheriff's statement
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly did not mince words about the case, publicly condemning the alleged attack and praising the fast work that led to Irven’s arrest. "This suspect spent hours terrorizing a pregnant woman in her own home and then threatened her life if she called for help. That is pure evil," Staly said in the Flagler County Sheriff's Office news release.
Why this matters
Violence during pregnancy is not just a domestic dispute story; it is a medical and public health emergency. Assaults on pregnant women carry elevated risks for both mother and fetus, and pregnancy-associated homicides are a documented contributor to maternal deaths, according to CDC analysis of the National Violent Death Reporting System. Surveillance data from the CDC show that a meaningful share of intimate-partner-related homicides involve women who are pregnant or recently postpartum.
Locally, the Family Life Center operates a 24-hour crisis hotline for Flagler County residents at (386) 437-3505 to support survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence.
What happens next
Irven was booked into the Volusia County Jail and is being held for extradition to Flagler County, where prosecutors will determine formal charges and court dates, as reported by WFTV. If convicted, the charges he faces carry significant prison time. For now, they remain allegations, and Irven is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact the Flagler County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 386-313-4911, or call 911 in an emergency.
