W. Va. Code § 61-2-9D

This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 61-2-9D, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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§61-2-9d. Strangulation; suffocation and asphyxiation; definitions; penalties.

Official statutory text

(a) As used in this section:

“Bodily injury” means substantial physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition;

“Strangle” means knowingly and willfully restricting another person’s air intake or blood flow by the application of pressure on the neck or throat;

“Suffocate” means knowingly and willfully restricting the normal breathing or circulation of blood by blocking the nose or mouth of another; and

“Asphyxiate” means knowingly and willfully restricting the normal breathing or circulation of blood by the application of pressure on the chest or torso.

(b) Any person who strangles, suffocates or asphyxiates another without that person’s consent and thereby causes the other person bodily injury or loss of consciousness is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one year or more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.