KINGWOOD — A Tunnelton woman was sentenced to 1-5 years in prison on charges of strangulation.
The sentence was then suspended and Ashley Nicole Miller was given four years probation.
The strangulation charge stemmed from a December incident when Miller hit her husband in the face and began to strangle him with both hands.
Miller’s attorney, Hilary Bright, told the court Miller isn’t the same person she was then. She said her client was on drugs but is now clean, employed and wants to work on her marriage and see her 8-year-old daughter.
When asked by Preston Circuit Judge Stephen Shaffer if she had contact with her husband, Miller admitted she did. This was a violation of her current probation.
“If I do as the State recommends and put you on probation how can I be sure you won’t have contact with him (husband) again?” Shaffer asked. “My first concern is you will go off your medication and will do this again. My second concern is something might happen to you. In this issue he would have a good alibi — you came after him again.”
Miller told the court she and her husband have been together for 11 years and have an 8-year-old together.
Bright asked the court to allow Miller and her husband to have contact during her current probation, stating the couple want to work on their marriage.
“A blind man could see this coming,” Shaffer said. “Mr. Miller doesn’t have clean hands.”
Shaffer asked Prosecuting Attorney Mel Snyder for his opinion about the Millers having contact with each other.
Snyder told the court he has “prosecuted Miller’s husband in the past.”
“I believe there should be some kind of limitations on contact. It should be supervised and counseling for both of them,” he said.
Shaffer ordered a third person be present during any contact the Millers have with each other.
“The third person can’t be your 8-year-old daughter,” he said. “I’m ordering marriage counseling for the two of you. We’ll look at this further down the road if probation and the counselor say it’s going to be alright.”
TWEET@DominionPostWV
