A 27-year-old man is facing attempted second-degree murder and other felony charges after police say he choked his ex-girlfriend until she lost consciousness and then slashed her family member with a box cutter inside a Northeast Memphis home. Edgar Chox turned himself in to authorities following the attack, which happened Sunday on the 6200 block of Thrushcross Drive.
According to WREG, officers responded to the address for a reported aggravated assault after Chox allegedly went to his ex-girlfriend's residence and told her he would either kill her or kill himself. Police say he then grabbed her by the throat, and she lost consciousness during the assault. When she came to, Chox was reportedly still in the home.
WREG reports that a family member intervened and pushed Chox toward the front door, at which point he allegedly swung a box cutter at the relative, cutting them on the abdomen, face and neck. That victim was transported to a hospital and was listed in critical condition, per authorities cited by the station. Chox fled the scene in his vehicle before the ex-girlfriend identified him to police as the attacker.
Suspect Surrenders at East Memphis Police Precinct
Chox eventually turned himself in at the Mt. Moriah Police Station, which serves East Memphis and reopened in August 2025 inside a new $9.2 million facility built as a modern “smart station,” according to the Tri-State Defender. Officers took him into custody there before he was transported back to the crime scene and then booked at 201 Poplar, formally known as the Walter L. Bailey, Jr. Criminal Justice Center, which houses the Shelby County Jail along with the county's criminal courts and the District Attorney's office, per the facility's Wikipedia entry.
Chox was charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault/domestic violence and domestic assault. His bond was set at $200,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, the outlet's report notes.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-210 and § 39-12-101, attempted second-degree murder is classified as a Class B felony carrying a sentencing range of eight to 30 years in state prison and fines up to $25,000 upon conviction, according to Justia. Separately, state law under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-102 classifies any assault involving strangulation as aggravated assault, a Class C felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, since strangulation is defined as intentionally applying pressure to the throat or neck to impede breathing or blood flow.
Because the case involves domestic assault allegations, Chox was also subject to a mandatory 12-hour holding period before becoming eligible to post bond, a requirement under Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-11-150(h) intended to give law enforcement and victim advocates time for safety planning, according to Freeman & Fuson.
A Pattern That's Proven Hard to Break in Memphis
This case adds to a string of recent domestic violence arrests across Memphis. Hoodline previously reported on a man accused of dragging his girlfriend from a car and running her over, as well as a case involving a mother attacked as her son helped her escape a vehicle.
The trend lines back up the anecdotal pattern. Mid-2026 crime statistics from the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and University of Memphis Public Safety Institute show that while overall major violent crime in Memphis fell 31.5% in the first half of the year, reported domestic violence cases dropped by just 5.7%, according to the Tennessee Bar Association. Local officials note that domestic violence remains especially difficult to curb because it primarily occurs inside private residences, away from public view.
Statewide Efforts to Track Repeat Offenders
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation data cited by the Tennessee Bar Association found nearly 8,000 reported domestic violence offenses in Shelby County alone during the first half of 2026, prompting the University of Memphis Public Safety Institute to unveil a new Coordinated Community Response strategic plan in July aimed at improving victim support and streamlining prosecution across the county. That effort comes after the Family Safety Center of Memphis and Shelby County, once the area's main hub for orders of protection, emergency housing and legal aid, abruptly shut down in March 2025 amid statewide funding uncertainty, according to MLK50 Memphis. Advocates are now working to establish a replacement family justice center.
On a statewide level, Tennessee launched the nation's first public registry for persistent domestic violence offenders on January 1, 2026, under Savanna's Law, which tracks individuals convicted of two or more domestic violence offenses. The law was named for Robertson County Deputy Savanna Puckett, who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend with a history of domestic violence. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's 2025 annual crime report recorded more than 58,000 domestic violence offenses statewide, including 73 domestic homicides and 680 domestic rapes, according to Rolling Out.
