A Charlotte, North Carolina content creator and online journalist is facing a strangulation charge after a woman told investigators he hit her, knocked her to the ground and choked her until she could not breathe inside a St. Albans, West Virginia apartment. Michael Anthony Bowman, reported to be either 35 or 36 years old depending on the outlet, was accused of the attack in late August, with two children present in the home during the alleged altercation.
According to WCHS, law enforcement were dispatched to a St. Albans apartment complex in late August after Bowman was accused of beating a woman there. A criminal complaint was later filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court charging Bowman with strangulation as part of a domestic violence investigation. Court-record reporting from the station says Bowman and the woman had been arguing after she allegedly communicated with a former partner, and that Bowman initially agreed to leave the home while officers discussed the process of obtaining a domestic violence petition with the woman, per investigators.
The woman told investigators Bowman hit her in the face and knocked her to the ground before placing both hands around her throat and choking her airway, according to the same report. WBOY reports that she said she could not breathe and that her vision was going black during the alleged strangulation.
Children Reportedly Intervened and Called 911
Court records describe two children as being in the home during the altercation. Per those records, one child began striking Bowman while another called 911. Investigators later conducted forensic interviews with the children, and the station's report notes that the children's accounts confirmed the woman's version of the altercation. DC News Now similarly reported that police said the children's interviews lined up with the victim's account.
DC News Now also reported that Bowman allegedly admitted to a “mutual struggle” during a phone conversation, though his attorney declined to let him answer questions about whether he struck the woman or placed his hands on her throat. That outlet identified Bowman as 36, while WCHS and WBOY both reported his age as 35.
Attorney Pushes Back, Cites Earlier Dismissed Case
Bowman's attorney told WBOY that Bowman would never engage in acts of domestic violence and said the defense intends to fight the strangulation charge. Bond was set at $25,000, and per that same outlet, Bowman may return to North Carolina as long as he appears for his preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 8.
WBOY's reporting also notes that Bowman was previously arrested in Marion County in April following an incident at a Worthington Town Hall meeting, where he was charged with two counts of obstructing law enforcement. Those obstruction charges were later dismissed after Bowman pleaded not guilty, the outlet reported.
Bowman built a large social-media following around his journalism and storytelling work, but his accounts were deleted after the strangulation allegations became public, according to WCHS. The preliminary hearing next week is expected to be the next step in a case that, for now, remains at the charging stage with no resolution reported.
