Expert talks strangulation, domestic violence following Tucson homicide | Crime

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – News 4 Tucson is hearing from a domestic violence expert following a case of alleged domestic violence turning deadly earlier this week.

Martine Mayorquin, 32, is accused of choking 28-year-old Katlynne Roy to death on Monday, in front of their three children.

A witness “heard kids screaming and crying” at a small Tucson apartment complex, according to court documents. Documents also show the property manager later found Mayorquin standing over a woman who was lying on the ground.

The complaint said Mayorquin and Roy’s kids were found “in the bathroom crying.” None of the children are older than 7.

“It creates a heightened sense of agitation, fear, anxiety,” Anna Harper, with a domestic violence organization, told News 4 Tucson. “Those are all really common amongst children who have either experienced violence or have witnessed violence.”

Harper, the CEO of Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse, said strangulation is a risk factor in cases which can become deadly. She added that across the country, only about 10 percent of people who are strangled get medical help.

Mayorquin appeared in court earlier this week. He’s being held on a $1 million bond.

The fear of retaliation in domestic violence cases is real, Harper said.

“It can feel hopeless, and it can feel like there isn’t a way to get out of it or change it,” Harper said. “And often those thoughts are a function of the abuse.”

An anonymous hotline for survivors of domestic violence is 1-888-428-0101.