A man in Michigan has been charged with killing a woman after he allegedly tried to stage her death as a car crash, according to police.
Chesterfield Police Department (CPD) officers raced to the intersection of Hidden Brook Drive and Burgess Lane following reports of a crash early on February 13.
According to a CPD statement: “The officers discovered a female lying near the intersection with serious injuries.”
The woman was later identified as a 42-year-old Chesterfield Township resident and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
CPD detectives along with traffic crash investigators were called to the scene of the crash in order to carry out a further examination of the location.
In a statement, a CPD spokesperson said: “Evidence at the scene and witness statements were not consistent with a traffic crash.”
Police subsequently arrested John Galvan, 42. The police said: “This suspicious death is the result of a violent domestic relationship.”
Galvan was charged with the following offenses:
- Reckless driving causing death
- Homicide – manslaughter with a motor vehicle
- Failure to stop at the scene of accident – when at fault – resulting in death
- Operating – license suspended, revoked, denied – causing death
He is currently being held at the Macomb County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Galvan will be held there until his probable cause conference, a part of the pre-trial stage of a criminal case, on February 24 at 42 District Court in New Baltimore.
The CPD did not elaborate further on Galvan’s relationship with the woman.
A second person who was arrested along with Galvan was later released without being charged, according to police.
The police statement concluded: “There is no further danger to the residents of Chesterfield Township. The investigation will continue over the next several days.”
Newsweek has contacted the CPD for comment.
According to the Michigan State Police, in 2017 there were 91,004 reported victims and 105 reported murders related to domestic violence in the state.
In Michigan, domestic violence is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/ or a $500 fine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intimate partner violence (IPV) “affects millions of people” in the U.S. every year.
IPV is defined as “abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship,” while “intimate partner” refers to both current and former spouses and dating partners.
The CDC said: “Over 43 million women and 38 million men have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime.”
It continued: “Data from U.S. crime reports suggest that about 1 in 5 homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner. The reports also found that over half of female homicide victims in the U.S. are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.”
Help is available for domestic and sexual violence victims, who can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 TTD.
Police handout/ Getty