CINCINNATI — The man who would be stabbed three people to death in College Hill on Thursday had prior charges against one of the victims.

Anthony Mathis, 66, died of self-inflicted stab wounds at UC Medical Center after Cincinnati police took him into custody following an hours-long SWAT standoff.

Last April, Mathis was charged with strangulation and domestic violence against Patricia McCollum, one of three people police found dead in the home after they arrested Mathis.

According to the criminal complaint, McCollum said Mathis, her son-in-law, “choked her, causing pain to her neck and lifting her off the ground at the same time.”

A judge granted McCollum’s request for a temporary restraining order.

A grand jury declined to indict Mathis on the strangulation charges. Months later, the domestic violence charge was “dismissed for lack of prosecution.”

In 2022, Mathis was convicted of discharging weapons, including a machete, at other people.

Police have not identified a motive in Thursday’s stabbing deaths.

Friends remember McCollum as a community advocate for foster children, the disabled and teenage mothers.

Charges of strangulation are considered felonies

In 2023Senate Bill 288 made Ohio the last state in the country to make strangulation a felony, not a misdemeanor.

This distinction is “very important,” said Maria York, policy director for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.

“If it’s not lethal the first incident, it will happen again and it could be fatal,” York said.

She said ODVN works with the medical and law enforcement community to educate about the signs and dangers of strangulation because “often there are no physical signs” after an incident.

“For those who have been strangled, connecting them with an advocate is so important because they can think about a safety plan, talk about the lethality around strangulation, and connect them to resources so they can make better choices. well informed. on the next steps,” York said.

Here are some specific resources around safety planning (odvn.org) and a family and friends guide (odvn.org) to help someone you know in an abusive relationship.

Women helping women

There is never an incident or moment during abuse that is too minor or too major for a survivor to seek an attorney, said Kristin Shrimplin, president and CEO of Women Helping Women.

The agency serves nearly 9,000 survivors and works with law enforcement so their advocates can respond to domestic violence calls.

“It’s unique in this state and most of the nation,” she said. “We ask (victims) one crucial question: What would you like to see happen now? And what does help look like?”

Among the support options the agency can provide are physical, mental, legal and financial.

“Instead of thinking that we, as a system or entity, know what’s best, our responsibility is to collaborate, to work together, and then to come forward and ask survivors the key question: ‘What would you like to see happen now? ?'” Shrimplin said. .

Attorneys answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“I want to be very clear with the survivors. You can call us anytime, whenever you need, whenever you want,” she said.

Verbal abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, physical violence, sexual violence or other threats are all experiences experienced by survivors, she said: “Gender-based violence is about power, control and isolation … we will respond.”

If you need help, call or text Women helping women hotline: 513-381-5610.