$500,000 Bail Set for Man Accused of Strangling, Threatening to Kill, Imprisoning Woman in Chehalis Residence 

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A man is being held in lieu of $500,000 on charges stemming from a July 1 incident during which he allegedly strangled and threatened to kill a woman in her car before forcibly taking her into a Chehalis residence, where he allegedly held her captive. 

The victim reported the incident to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 20. In her report, the victim reported that she and her daughter had gone to visit the defendant, Donny R. Elliott, 45, of Centralia, at a Chehalis address and when she and her daughter decided to leave, Elliott followed them out to the victim’s vehicle, entered through the rear passenger door and proceeded to grab the victim by the throat. 

“She said that she was slipping in and out of consciousness and during that time Elliott made multiple statements about him killing her,” according to court documents. 

Elliott then allegedly forced the victim out of the vehicle and back into the residence, where he “made her fix dinner” and “threatened to kill her with a tool that was described as being used to remove bark from a tree,” according to court documents. The victim told police she was able to escape with her daughter after Elliot fell asleep.



Elliott was arrested Sept. 12 on charges relating to a separate case. He was charged with second-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and harassment, threat to kill, on Sept. 22. 

While he was already subject to a no-bail hold on his other case, Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh requested that Judge Joely O’Rourke set Elliott’s bail in this case at $500,000 due to his criminal history, which includes convictions on domestic violence charges related to the same victim. 

“The state believes Mr. Elliott is a risk to community safety, he’s a risk to the victim, he’s a risk to any partner he has, past or current,” said Beigh at Elliott’s preliminary appearance hearing on Sept. 22. 

O’Rourke granted Beigh’s request for bail and issued a new no-contact order in favor of the victim. His next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for Sept. 30.