An officer interviews a female victim of domestic violence from a hospital bed
- May 21
- 4 min read
| by Travis Uresk | May 21st, 2026 |
Vernal, Utah (May 19th, 2026)—Cpl. White received call notes on his onboard computer while responding to a report of an assault, stating that the female victim was at a local hospital.
The officer met with the nurse who had been treating the woman, who informed Cpl. White, it was reported to them that the woman and her partner, identified as 56-year-old Alvin Russell Kartchner, met the night before to talk. The conversation evolved into an argument and eventually into Alvin choking the woman.
The officer was curious if the strangulation resulted in the woman losing consciousness, and the nurse stated it did not, but it almost did. The woman reported to medical staff that the voices were getting quieter and that her vision was going dark.
When the woman woke up the next morning, she felt as though her throat was swollen from the inside, and she had difficulty swallowing.
The nurse told Cpl. White didn't observe any bruising on the female's neck, but did see what she believed to be claw marks on the female's throat. It was reported that this was not the first incident between Alvin and the female, and sometimes he would both hit and choke her.
The nurse told Cpl. White that the female was being treated on this day because her neck had begun to feel swollen, her airway felt "tight," and it was painful to swallow. She was concerned that her throat would progress into something worse.
Cpl. White then spoke to the victim, who described the incident between her and Alvin: she had gone to Alvin's house, and they were just hanging out. Alvin wanted to have sex, and she didn't. He then accused her of being involved with other people.
She stated she then stood up and was kind of in Alvin's face, at which point he lost it. She then demonstrated being choked. She told the officer there was no escalation prior to Alvin strangling her, and then stated, "Previously, there would be punching or hitting, but that during this incident, Alvin went straight for my neck."
The beaten female disclosed that there were approximately three or four strangulation events the previous night. The victim described that during most of the strangulations, Alvin used both of his hands, which he placed around the front of her throat. The woman also described that at one point, he put her in a headlock, with his forearm across the top of her face and eyes, and grabbed the front of her throat with one hand.
The victim told the Corporal that during the attack, Alvin told her that she wasn’t going to leave him, and he would kill her and bury her body in his backyard.
Cpl. White asked the female if there was ever a time that she had lost consciousness during any of the strangulation events, and she stated that she did not lose consciousness. However, she did say there was a time when she felt as though she was going to pass out. She described that she was lightheaded and that she had a headache following the strangulation. At times, her vision was woozy, and she stated it was like when you're too drunk, but she was having a really hard time remembering that incident.
She also said, following the strangulation, she would dry heaved and was nauseous, and described feeling faint, dizzy, and lightheaded. Then her neck hurt so badly that she couldn't sleep.
The Corporal inspected the woman’s neck and observed markings on the right side. There were several small reddish lines in relatively close proximity to one another. It was the officer’s observations that the markings were consistent with the victim’s statements, as they appeared consistent with someone having grabbed her neck with significant force. One of the red lines curved, and the appearance of the curved line was consistent with the outline of a finger/finger tip. She also had defensive marks on her right forearm when Alvin went to attack her.
When the female would rotate her neck or head, she appeared to be in pain.
Cpl. White completed a domestic violence lethality assessment with the female, and the results of the test showed she qualified as high-danger.
The female stated there were approximately seven previous similar incidents between 2025 and 2026.
Cpl. White conducted a query and located an active sentencing protective order between the female and Alvin, in which she was listed as the protected party. He then conducted a records query of Alvin and learned that the protective order was connected to a court case in which Alvin was convicted of stalking the victim (Third Degree Felony – DV).
At the time of this incident, Alvin was on felony probation for domestic violence-related charges involving the victim.
Cpl. White made several attempts over several days to make contact with Alvin, but was unsuccessful.
On May 19th, 2026, Naples City Police Officer Silcox made contact with Alvin near his residence, at which time he was taken into custody on an active warrant for his arrest in connection with several other domestic violence related charges separate from this incident.
Cpl. White was notified that Alvin had been taken into custody and transported to the Uintah County Jail, where he interviewed him.
During that interview, Alvin denied meeting with the victim on the day of the incident and further denied any additional allegations against him.
Due to the information contained within the affidavit, Alvin Russell Kirchner will be booked into the Uintah County Jail on the following charges:
Violation of a sentencing protective order for knowingly violating a sentencing protective order in which the conviction was a felony pursuant a third degree felony.
Aggravated assault (domestic violence) for having acted with unlawful force or violence that intentionally or knowingly impeded the breathing or the circulation of blood of another individual by applying pressure to that individual's neck or throat pursuant to a third-degree felony.
Threat of violence (domestic violence) for having threatened to commit an offense involving death, accompanied by an immediate show of force or violence toward an individual pursuant to a class B misdemeanor.
Additionally, Cpl. White requested that Alvin Russell Kartchner be held without bail due to his being on felony probation for acts committed against the victim in this case, his disregard for the aforementioned sentencing protective order, and his continued acts of violence against the victim in this case.
Traffic and Crime Report
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