Two men indicted by Grand Jury on counts of strangling mothers of their children

By Linda Cicoira

Two men were indicted Monday by a Northampton Grand Jury on counts of strangling the mothers of their children in separate incidents last year.

Twenty-five-year-old Taquan Lee Bell, of Gibson Lane in Accomac, is accused of impeding the blood circulation or respiration by applying pressure to her neck that resulted in bodily injury on Dec. 9, 2023.

The woman told police that the father of her one-year-old son had pushed her while she was holding her baby. She put the child down and Bell “punched in her right eye.” When she pushed his face away, Thomas told police, he bit her on the finger before choking her. The incident occurred in Exmore.

In the other case, 24-year-old Cody William Chrisman, of 1st Lane in Onley, was indicted on a count of strangling the mother of his children until she lost consciousness, on Oct. 5, 2023.

The victim told police that Chrisman pushed her into walls because she did not have the money for him to get a game system for his birthday, in the previous month. As the evening wore on, she said he became angrier and eventually knocked her down and choked her. She said she did not know how long she was unconscious.

Chrisman denies the allegations.