Michael Stanley Given Probation For Strangulation

A Natrona County man who had recently been released from the Wyoming Behavioral Institute will avoid prison time after admitting he pointed a knife and choking a woman that he was in a relationship with.

Michael Stanley was given a three-to-five year suspended prison sentence with five years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to one charge of strangulation of a household member.

Investigators with the Natrona County Sheriff's Office say in middle August, they were contacted by the victim who said she and Stanley were at the Archery Range Campground, when he pointed a knife at her, saying he was going to beat her if she didn't do what he wanted.

The victim was able to knock the knife out of Stanley's hand causing her to injure herself.

She then left the area and contacted law enforcement.

She told investigators that she and Stanley met two weeks prior at the WBI, and started a relationship, but it was troubled and abusive from the beginning and she had been choked at least six times.