“In the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2020, as I walked away from a five-year relationship, I was taken down from behind and strangled,” Franklin resident Leigh Kentof told the State Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2023.
“I can’t breathe, he’s breaking my neck, I’m going to die, were the only thoughts going through my mind. It was completely black and eerily silent. It felt as if I was drowning above water.”
Kentof's traumatically common experience led to an extended court case delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and an eventual legal resolution, one that she said made her feel like a victim of what she said is a broken justice system that can lead to re-victimization.
Her ex-boyfriend, former Major League baseball player Russell Branyan, accepted a plea deal in that case, which saw his initial charge of aggravated assault reduced to reckless endangerment.
Police called him the "primary aggressor," and despite Kentof reporting that she was "fighting for her survival," Branyan's jail sentence was amended to nearly a year of probation, as well as an order to participate in domestic violence classes and take random drug screenings.
He was also ordered to stay away from Kentof and wear a GPS tracking device, but Branyan's charges were the latest in a history of criminal charges, including past domestic abuse charges, and later he was charged with stalking.
"When I came to, he wasn't on me — I took off running, he tried to keep me from leaving — I got away with my life and never looked back," Kentof told The News. "That was trauma in itself."
"I saw myself as a very independent, strong woman — How did this happen to me?"
Kentof's distaste with the criminal justice system sparked her mission to pressure the state to hold offenders accountable to a higher degree, in hopes that other victims can find justice, addressing both prosecutors and lawmakers to speak her truth and begin a long task of changing the law.
Williamson County’s new District Attorney Stacey B. Edmonson was appointed to the role in May and sworn into office in June following the unexpected death of former DA Kim Helper in March, who began helping Kentof in her pursuit for change.
"The difference between strangulation and unconsciousness and death is seconds; It's not minutes, it's seconds," Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Dungan told The News.
Dungan has worked in the 21st Judicial District since 2018 where she specializes on prosecuting domestic violence and other crimes against women, including cases of stalking, harassment and sexual assaults.
"Domestic violence is a cycle that is driven by manipulation and power and control," Dungan said. "The types of things that drive that cycle could include substance abuse, mental health issues and a myriad of other things."
Dungan said that domestic violence is seen across varying socio-economic levels, and according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women and one in 10 men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking during their lifetime, something that more than 10 million adults experience in the United States annually.
According to data compiled by the Training Institution on Strangulation Prevention, some 68-80 percent of women who experience intimate partner violence will be the victim of near-fatal strangulation by a partner, while strangulation can lead to immediate or delayed death.
Kentof's advocacy led to changes in state law this summer, including a mandatory 30-day jail sentence upon conviction for anyone who commits domestic violence with strangulation or attempted strangulation.
The new law also means that anyone who strangles a victim to the point of unconsciousness could now be charged with second-degree murder and an increased penalty if is the victim is pregnant, as well as increased bond requirements.
The then-bill and now-law was sponsored in the Senate by Majority Leader Jack Johnson and in the House by Rep. Jake McCalmon, among other co-sponsors.
"It took a lot of courage on her part to be able to share that with me and explain some of the issues that she had with the criminal justice system," Johnson told The News. "I encourage constituents to when they have an issue, or a thought or an idea, they should reach out to their elected folks and share that."
Johnson called Helper an "invaluable resource" in helping the legislature to understand the complexities that law enforcement faces when investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases and how to best improve the law to help victims.
This is not Kentof's first experience as an advocate, after she pushed for "Andy's Law" in 2021, a proposed federal legislation named after her late brother which would make access to mental health services for veterans, an issue that she continues to work on.
"The last three-and-a-half years have changed me — I miss my rose-colored glasses," Kentof said, adding that she's not done trying to bring light to a system that she said can easily re-victimize people who are advocating for themselves and countless victims of intimate-partner violence.
"I believe I've gone from victim to victory," Kentof said, "But I'm still working on justice, because our system is broken."