Burnsville Man Accused of Strangling Two Women

A Burnsville man faces a felony charge after he allegedly assaulted and strangled a woman and her friend during a drunken rampage.

Brandon Michael Bichner, 21, is charged with four criminal offenses, the most serious being domestic assault by strangulation, a felony which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The incident began on the night of April 5, around 10:37 p.m. when the Burnsville Police Department was dispatched to an apartment on Portland Avenue after receiving a report of a woman being beaten.

When officers arrived they found a woman, hereinafter referred to as Victim 1, sitting inside a vehicle, crying hysterically. Police noted that she had dirt all over her back and shoulder, and dried blood on tip of her nose and mouth. She said Bichner hit her head on an apartment door and a curb. Victim 1 was taken to the hospital before she could make any further statement.

Bichner was found in a car parked nearby.

While this was going on, police learned that another woman, Victim 2, was also en route to the hospital. Victim 2 told police that she and the other woman had gone to Bichner's apartment to cheer him up. He'd been dumped by his girlfriend a month ago, and was having a hard time dealing with it, she said. Bichner had been drinking heavily.

While they were speaking to him, Victim 2 said Bichner grabbed the other woman by the throat with both hands, strangling her until she kicked him away and left the room. Victim 2 tried to tell Bichner it would be OK, but he then grabbed her throat and squeezed until she couldn't breathe. The woman said Bichner only stopped because Victim 1 came back and pulled him off of her.

Victim 2 picked up her seven-month-old child and tried to flee, but Bichner came at her again. A lengthy struggle ensued, and Victim 2 and her child were only able to get away from Bichner with the aid of her friend. Evenutally, Victim 2 escaped into her car and drove off.

Victim 1's account was similar, though she suffered a lengthy attack after her friend left the scene. At one point, she said Bichner bit her on the shoulder, and slammed her head into several hard surfaces—the front door of the apartment, a nearby wall, and the curb. once she was down, he kicked her in the side and the head several times. The attack ended only after she scrambled into her car and locked the doors. The woman said Bichner came up to her car and began to apologize.

He remains in custody at the Dakota County Jail, held on an $80,000 bond His next court appearance is set for May 7.