A Leesburg man is accused of strangling his girlfriend after she accused him of talking to another woman on Snapchat.
Isaac Wilson Kellum, 28, of 106 N. Moss St., was charged with domestic battery by strangulation after the incident, which happened last Wednesday in the victim’s apartment on Spring Lake Cove Lane in Fruitland Park. Kellum was also arrested on warrants for numerous drug, weapons and resisting charges.
A neighbor told a Fruitland Park Police officer she heard banging and screaming noises coming from the victim’s apartment. The officer knocked on the door and when the victim answered, she had cuts on both sides of her neck, her left eye was bleeding and there was fresh swelling underneath her eye, according to the police report.
The victim first told the officer no physical altercation occurred, but she later said she and Kellum got into an argument over him talking to another woman on the Snapchat phone application. The victim said Kellum got on top of her and started choking her, causing her airway to become obstructed and restricting her breathing. She said she scratched Kellum out of self defense while she was being choked because she couldn’t breathe, the report said.
The victim said the incident happened in the bedroom on the north side of the apartment. She said once Kellum stopped choking her, she retreated to the kitchen and he stayed in the bedroom and started packing things. The victim said she told Kellum he wasn’t leaving but did not try to physically stop him, according to the report.
The victim, who declined medical treatment, said she and Kellum have lived together off and on for about two years and have a child in common, the report said.
Kellum first told the officer no altercation occurred but later said he got into an argument with the victim over her believing he was speaking to another female on Snapchat. He said the argument was only verbal and never physical, according to the report.
Kellum said he started packing his things in garbage bags and the victim told him he wasn’t allowed to leave and stood in front of the door to keep him from leaving by putting her hand on his right shoulder. Kellum said he removed the victim’s hand from his shoulder and scratched himself in the process. He said he then pushed past the victim to leave, the report said.
The victim was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was being held Monday without bond. He’ll appear in Lake County Court on May 24.
