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Woman accused of choking, beating boy bound over to District Court

Campbell County Courthouse Photo (File Photo/County 17)

GILLETTE, Wyo. — The criminal case against a woman accused of feloniously beating her boyfriend’s son in late December entered District Court this week after she waived her preliminary hearing, Campbell County court records say. 

Autumn Titel, 32, is charged with felony child abuse, with prosecutors alleging she physically abused and injured her boyfriend’s 9-year-old son on East 5th Street. An affidavit of probable cause filed in the case states she struck the boy’s face with her hand, dragged him by his shirt to his room, and hit him several more times before choking him on Dec. 31. 

The boy’s father removed him from Titel’s care to keep him safe and Gillette police officers were notified of the incident by a mandated reporter to open an investigation on Jan. 3. The boy’s father agreed to allow officers to come to the residence to speak with all three of them, according to the affidavit. 

Court documents say Titel said she knew why the officers were there and that the boy suffered from mental and developmental disorders, which she claimed made him difficult to handle. She explained that she had been dealing with a lot of problems with the boy and became frustrated upon learning he took $20 from his father. 

The affidavit states that Titel claimed the boy lied about stealing the money and she lost her temper to the point she “beat him up a little.” She reportedly admitted to striking the boy in the face multiple times, dragging him by his collar and choking him for five to 10 seconds. 

While she was choking the boy, Titel allegedly yelled at herself to stop because she knew she shouldn’t be doing that to him, court documents state. When she stopped choking the boy, she left the room, returned and placed tape over his mouth.

She told officers she exclaimed verbally, “What the [expletive] are you doing?” before removing the tape and calling family to watch the boy because she couldn’t control her temper, according to the affidavit. 

When interviewed, the boy stated Titel choked him out and threatened to poke his eyes out. He said his breathing was restricted while Titel choked him, and he had fading bruising on his clavicle as well as marks on his neck, the affidavit states. 

Titel was placed under arrest for felony child abuse, with the arresting officer determining her actions constituted a clear violation of Wyoming law in that she caused physical injury to the boy as a person in charge of his welfare, according to the affidavit.

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