Burnsville Man Accused of Domestic Assault by Strangulation

A Burnsville man has been charged with domestic assault by strangulation after authorities say he choked his victim, then flung her against a crib in which an infant was sleeping.

Devon Thomas Finucane, 27, who lives in the 2800 block of Sunnyside Circle, is charged with a felony in the case. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint against him, Burnsville police were called to Finucane’s home early on the morning of June 3 on a domestic assault report.

When they arrived, officers found the victim standing in the driveway, “shaking, hysterical, crying and screaming,” the complaint says.

The woman told police that she and Finucane have a child in common, and that they have dated on and off. She said she made a remark to Finucane about getting pregnant by another man “so that Finucane could feel the pain she felt with his past unfaithfulness,” according to the complaint.

The remark enraged Finucane, who grabbed her throat with his right hand and began to squeeze, the complaint says. The victim said he cut off her airway for five to 10 seconds; when she began to fight him off and scream for her brother, who was in the basement, Finucane picked her up and threw her toward the crib in which their 6-month-old baby was sleeping, according to the complaint.

The victim told police that she made it across the hall into another room, but Finucane followed her, picked her up and threw her to the floor. When the victim’s brother arrived, she said, she was able to run out of the room and call police.

The victim told police that Finucane – a martial arts fighter and an “avid weightlifter” – has squeezed her throat in the past.

One of the responding officers noted broken blood vessels in the corners of the victim’s eyeballs – a common symptom among strangulation victims – and red marks on the right side of her throat, just beneath her jaw.

Finucant told police that the victim told him that she hoped she was pregnant with his child “so she could go sleep around with other men,” according to the complaint. He said he became upset and began arguing with the victim, yelling and screaming at her while he was trying to get her out of the bedroom.

Finucane said the victim hit him in the back of the head and the face before he was able to push her out of the room and close the door.