After a night of drinking, an argument, and a door slamming, the man in our story probably thought his night was over when he fell asleep on the couch. I’m pretty sure he never saw the ramifications of this particular argument. According to the news story, after going out and drinking, a couple started arguing on the walk home, discussing how needy the girlfriend had become. The fight continued until the woman stormed off and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. The boyfriend fell asleep on the couch and woke up to the girlfriend allegedly trying to bite his penis off. He fought her off, but she fought back. The man ended up with injuries to his head, face, neck, fingers, knee and, of course, genitals. The girlfriend was arrested and is facing First Degree Assault charges.
A Deadly Bite: What is 1st Degree Assault in Fort Collins?
C.R.S. 18-3-202(1)(b) – Assault in the First Degree – is defined by Colorado law as:
(b) With intent to disfigure another person seriously and permanently, or to destroy, amputate, or disable permanently a member or organ of his body, he or she causes such an injury to any person
First Degree Assault is generally charged as a class 3 felony in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park. The only exception is when the Assault occurs under a sudden heat of passion. This means if the victim provoked the accused, and the accused immediately responded without allowing the passing of time to make a more reasonable decision, the criminal act could be considered to have happened in the heat of passion. In these cases, the 1st Degree Assault is charged as a class 5 felony.
A possible defense for this level of Assault is when it occurs under a sudden heat of passion.
Unfortunately for the woman in our story, the heat of passion defense will probably not work for her. There was a span of time between the argument and the biting assault, which would have allowed her to reason a better choice. True, her alleged Assault was in response to the argument she was having with her boyfriend, but whatever provocation he provided by calling her “needy,” did not provoke her immediate response to bite off his penis. This decision came a little later, as enough time had passed for the man to fall asleep on the couch. This means, she will be facing the class 3 felony, punishable with up to 12 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.