Strangulation Law

WA. REV. CODE ANN. § 9A.36.021. ASSAULT IN THE SECOND DEGREE

(1) A person is guilty of assault in the second degree if he or she, under circumstances not amounting to assault in the first degree:

(g) Assaults another by strangulation or suffocation.

(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, assault in the second degree is a Class B felony.

(b) Assault in the second degree with a finding of sexual motivation under RCW 9.94A.835 or 13.40.135 is a Class A felony.

WA. REV. CODE ANN. § 9A.04.110. DEFINITIONS

(26) “Strangulation” means to compress a person’s neck, thereby obstructing the person’s blood flow or ability to breathe, or doing so with the intent to obstruct the person’s blood flow or ability to breathe;

(27) “Suffocation” means to block or impair a person’s intake of air at the nose and mouth, whether by smothering or other means, with the intent to obstruct the person’s ability to breathe.