People v. Taylor CA3

BACKGROUND

N.D. had a dating relationship with defendant for 13 or 14 years. The relationship ended in 2018. In June of that year, defendant picked up a coffee table and used it to hit N.D. in the head. In a separate altercation, defendant threw N.D. down a flight of stairs. Nevertheless, at the time of the offenses in this case, the two had started to talk again. One morning in August 2022, N.D. awoke and found defendant sitting at her dining room table. She had not invited him. Defendant requested money, they argued, and defendant refused to leave. When N.D. went to the door, defendant put her keys and cell phone in his pocket. He closed the door and held on to it. She asked for her phone and keys but defendant refused to give them back. Although N.D. tried to leave at least two times, defendant would not let her out. He followed her around her home, grabbed her robe, threw her down, straddled her, took her by the hair, hit her head on the floor about four times, and also hit her in the back of the head. Defendant used a washcloth to wipe the blood on her face and then stuffed the washcloth in her mouth. He choked her, yelled at her, and hit her in the face with an open hand.…