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When twenty-one-year-old Brandon Barnes was taken into custody earlier this month and charged with murdering his wife – 20-year old Jessica Barnes – on August 2, 2024, it wasn’t the first time he allegedly strangled someone. Barnes’ ex-girlfriend, Kathrine, told FITSNews the accused murderer repeatedly strangled her during the time she lived with him. Even worse, she claimed he once strangled their infant daughter.
Kathrine is lucky to be alive. Because with every subsequent assault by strangulation, a victim’s chances of surviving decrease exponentially. Jessica Barnes wasn’t so fortunate. Her remains were found in Pickens County, S.C. on September 19, 2024 and according to police her husband confessed to strangling her.
Stories like Jessica’s come across Brian Bennett‘s desk on a daily basis. As a retired law enforcement instructor with over 25 years of experience, Bennett now conducts training nationally on domestic violence, vulnerable adult abuse and non-fatal strangulation assaults. He is also a vocal advocate for a stand-alone, non-fatal strangulation law in South Carolina – the only state in the country which has yet to enact legislation specific to strangulations.
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A PRECURSOR TO HOMICIDE…
For an abuser, strangulation is one of the most extreme methods of coercion and control through which they can exert power over their victims. It is literally taking their breath away from them. For many abusers, the act is intended to show victims they are powerless – and that hold the power over whether they can live or die.
Strangulation is also a key indicator for future violence. According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, a woman who has suffered a “nonfatal strangulation incident with her intimate partner is 750 percent more likely to be killed by the same perpetrator… with a gun.”
In April of 2024, 25-year-old Megan Bodiford – a mother of three from Denmark, S.C. – became one of those statistics. A week after her family reported her missing, Megan’s charred remains were discovered in a burnt out vehicle parked beneath utility wires a short distance from her home.
On May 3, 2024, Bodiford’s boyfriend and father of her infant child – 28-year-old Jarrett Haskell Davis of Denmark, S.C. – was arrested and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, felon in possession of a firearm, arson and desecrating human remains. According to a probable cause affidavit accompanying warrants for his arrest, Davis “shot and murdered” Bodiford on April 25, 2024 in the Ghents Branch Road area of Denmark.
“After (he) murdered the victim, he set the victim’s vehicle on fire with the victim inside,” the affidavit continued.
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In the weeks leading up to her death, Megan’s family and friends had tried to get the young mother help. After seeing signs of assault – including multiple bruises – they reached out to Davis’ probation officer for help.
“He is going to end up killing his baby momma (Bodiford),” one message warned.
After the individual in receipt of these messages confirmed they were indeed Davis’ probation officer, Bodiford’s friend provided additional details.
“He does a number on Megan everyday now,” she wrote. “It’s becoming a daily occurrence. And she’s already had the law called multiple times, but what he does is he goes neck deep into the woods before the(y) arrive there. He has a whole new warrant for that.”
“He also chokes the shit out of her,” she continued, “And he’ll do it while she’s holding the baby.”
The probation officer suggested the friend reach out to Bodiford and have her call 911 – but to suggest she refrain from putting the phone to her ear so as to keep Davis from becoming aware she had placed the call.
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“I told her the exact same thing, but I doubt she’ll try to call again,” the friend said. “She gave up from what it looks like.”
The next day the friend texted the probation officer saying Bodiford texted her that morning with another chilling message.
“(She) said he has a gun and is going to kill her,” the friend wrote.
There was no response from the probation officer.
The next text was sent on Saturday, April 27, 2024 – two days after Megan was last heard from.
“Hey we think Megan is dead, ” the message read. “She was last seen with Jarrett (Davis).”
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A KEY INDICATOR FOR OTHER CRIMES
Not only is strangulation a leading indicator for future homicide against domestic violence victims, it is a bright red flag warning against other crimes.
As he trains law enforcement officers across the country, Brian Bennett always points out the importance of this indicator.
“There’s a correlation between individuals who have a history of strangling and killing law enforcement officers or having to be shot by law enforcement officers,” he said.
According to the training institute, there is an increased risk to officers being killed when dealing with persons who previously used strangulation as a form of assault.
Of suspects in officer involved shootings nationally, Casey Gwinn of the Family Justice Center noted 80 percent had prior domestic violence history – and 30 percent percent had a prior history of “nonfatal strangulation against an intimate partner.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 8.5 percent of the officers killed between 2011 and 2020 were responding to domestic disturbance or violence calls.
“Nationally what research has pointed to is that there are like you said are a number of mass shooters who when their history was checked had patterns of strangling their intimate partners before committing mass shootings,” Bennett said.
Indeed, one study found 68.2 percent of mass shootings originated in domestic violence and 80 percent of mass shooters have known strangulation on their record.
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THE KEYS TO PREVENTION…
For Bennett, his advocacy on behalf of standalone legislation begins with educating first responders as well as legal and medical professionals on recognizing and handling non-fatal strangulation cases. Bennett said he was startled to find that “outside of law enforcement there’s no profession in South Carolina that has a standardized strangulation training curriculum.”
Despite being one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence and sexual assault, signs and symptoms are often unrecognizable without proper training. When an individual is deprived of air, loss of consciousness can occur within five to ten seconds and death within a few minutes. According one advocacy group, “because such a thin line exists between unconsciousness and death, strangulation sits just before homicide on the continuum of domestic violence risk assessment.”
Due to the severity of this type of assault, 49 state have chosen to qualify strangulation assaults as a felony-level offense due to the great bodily injury or death that can occur when someone is strangled.
The lone holdout? South Carolina.
While the Palmetto State’s domestic violence statutes elevate potential punishments when “the offense is committed by impeding the victim’s breathing or air flow,” strangulation is not explicitly referenced – nor is it assigned more weight than any number of aggravating factors which do (or too often, do not) result in stiffer charges and penalties.
Bennett said the lack of a standalone law in the Palmetto State results in a “glaring inconsistency in the charges filed (and) the sentencing that is handed out as it relates to someone being strangled.”
“You see everything from no charges at all to misdemeanor level charges,” he said.
Occasionally strangulation results in felony level charges, but Bennett notes that only occurs when someone “essentially has either died or was almost dead.” Strangulation incidents are charged as misdemeanors and often result in a plea deal to significantly reduced charges in court.
In addition to providing consistency across the judicial system, a law containing language defining strangulation would also make it easier to track the offenses — an outcome that has the potential to save many lives.
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While this law would come too late for Megan Bodiford, Jessica Barnes or Christa Bauer Gilley – a South Carolina native allegedly strangled to death by her husband in Houston, Texas earlier this month – their stories are compelling reminders of the urgent need for comprehensive legal measures.
By clearly defining strangulation as a distinct offense, we can ensure that law enforcement and judicial systems are better equipped to respond effectively, hold offenders accountable, and ultimately protect vulnerable individuals from escalating abuse. Their tragic experiences highlight the critical gaps in current legislation and underscore the importance of proactive steps to safeguard future victims.
Count on this media outlet to continue sharing these experiences – and to keep our audience updated on legislative efforts to rectify the situation.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.
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4 comments
Our state needs to join the rest of the nation making strangulation a felony. Most likely many victims could be saved.
Probably not. The only thing that would save most of these women is if their parents had instilled in them some semblance of judgment or discernment, so they did not actively seek out loosers for mates. For most, it is too late to correct that behavior.
Murder is a felony in every state and yet it happens all day every day in our country. The law is useless against an evil heart. We need to turn back to God as a nation. Jesus is the only true solution.
Would this make it against the law to choke my chicken?