Taunton Man Charged With Murder After Choking Girlfriend "As Hard as I Could"

Matthew Cruz, 37, told police he choked Shannon Smith until she went limp before leaving her dead at the bottom of a staircase. He initially claimed she threw herself down the stairs.

Taunton Man Held Girlfriend in Chokehold Until She Went Limp, Police Say

Matthew Cruz, a 37-year-old resident of Taunton, Massachusetts, was charged with murder after telling police he put his arm around his girlfriend's neck and applied pressure "as hard as I could," masslive.com reports. Shannon Smith, also 37 and a resident of Bridgewater, was found dead at the bottom of a staircase inside Cruz's home early Thursday morning.

Taunton police responded to 8 Alcott Circle at approximately 12:52 a.m. after receiving a call about an unresponsive woman. Officers found Smith at the foot of an interior staircase. She was transported to Morton Hospital in Taunton, where she was pronounced dead at 1:38 a.m.

First responders documented a cut on her forehead, a laceration on her nose, blood in her mouth and throat, facial swelling, a bruised eye, and abrasions on her breast, torso, neck, and hip. Paramedics told investigators they believed Smith had been dead longer than Cruz indicated before he placed the 911 call.

Cruz initially told officers at the scene that the two had argued earlier in the evening and that he was in his room when he heard her throw herself down the stairs. He said he called 911 when he found her unresponsive.

During a subsequent interview with a Taunton police detective and a Massachusetts State Police trooper, Cruz gave a different account. He said the two were in a second-floor bedroom when an argument broke out over Smith's relationship with her ex-husband. Smith left the room and walked toward the bathroom. Cruz followed and shoved her with both hands. Smith pushed back, a physical struggle followed, and both fell down the stairs.

Cruz then told investigators he wrapped his arm around her neck and held it there until she stopped moving and went limp. He called emergency services after some period of time had passed.

Cruz was taken into custody Thursday and arraigned in Taunton District Court on Friday on a murder charge.

Source: Law & Crime