Little Angels

[TheeBadOne]

Teen attempts to strangle friend after night of drinking

A Woodbury high school student wanted to do the safe thing and call her dad for a ride home after a night of drinking in River Falls, Wis.

But her two teenage girlfriends, afraid they'd get in trouble for underage drinking, took her cell phone and forced her into a car for a midnight ride she'd never forget, according to attempted first-degree murder charges filed against a 17-year-old Oakdale girl.

After the Saturday night drinking party in November, Anika Dartsch, 18, was forced into the back seat of a car, where she kicked at windows and screamed at the two girls to let her go home, police reports say.

But the 17-year-old girl scratched her, slammed her head against the back door and then choked her into unconsciousness. "I thought I was going to die," Dartsch told police.

Dartsch woke up without her coat in a yard in Hastings, about 20 minutes from River Falls. She ran to the nearest house and the owner took her to Hastings police about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 14. Detective Craig Nowlan reported she looked like "she had been assaulted." Douglas Dartsch took his daughter home to River Falls and had her checked at a Hudson hospital.

River Falls police said they didn't hear about the case for a month until Dartsch and her father contacted them Dec. 15. They filed a report that resulted in Danielle K. Pierson, 17, of Oakdale, being charged earlier this month with kidnapping, attempted first-degree homicide and assault in Pierce County Circuit Court in Wisconsin.

The Dartsch and Pierson families could not be reached for comment Wednesday, Pierson's attorney, Barry Lundeen, of Hudson, is on vacation and couldn't be contacted, according to his secretary.

Pierson continued to threaten to kill Dartsch at their school, New Life Academy in Woodbury, court records say. A classmate of Anika Dartsch later told Woodbury police that Pierson told the friend she was going to let things settle down and then "I'm gonna kill her," because she suspected Dartsch had reported the incident to their principal at New Life, a religious school. Police reports indicated Pierson was suspended from the school.

The Dartsch family initially didn't return calls from Hastings police, but when the threats continued, they called back Dec. 15, Detective Nowlan said.

River Falls Police Chief Roger Leque said he heard nothing about the alleged choking until Dartsch and her father reported it to his office Dec. 15. That was the same day the Dartsches contacted Woodbury and Hastings police, obtained their reports and delivered them to River Falls police.

Leque said his officer's report was submitted Jan. 3 to the Pierce County district attorney. The office requested follow-up police work and then filed charges March 4, said District Attorney John O'Boyle.

"We took a pretty serious look at it because of the allegation of strangulation," O'Boyle said. "Somebody can lose consciousness in seconds, and death can follow in minutes." He said he is still considering possible accomplice charges for the teenage girl driving the car in which Dartsch said she was choked.

Pierson made an initial court appearance March 9 and posted a signature bond for $50,000 under which she agreed to have no contact with Dartsch and to make all court dates.

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