ZANESVILLE — Muskingum County has added a third victim advocate in its prosecutor’s office as domestic violence cases continue to climb, with 25 felony cases involving strangulation filed in the county in 2026 through Oct. 6, Prosecutor Ron Welch said this week during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Welch said defendants in those strangulation cases have all been men, ranging in age from 18 to 69. Beyond those cases, the county has seen another 40 felony indictments containing domestic violence charges this year, plus 27 more cases in misdemeanor court, underscoring how much of the local criminal docket now involves violence inside homes.
One recent case illustrates the severity prosecutors say they are seeing. A Zanesville man was sentenced in September to 58 years in prison after pleading guilty to 33 violent felonies stemming from a prolonged attack on a woman. Welch recalled the case while arguing that the public still underestimates how violent domestic abuse can be, describing injuries that go far beyond a shove.
Ohio’s adoption of a specific strangulation law is one reason more of these cases are being charged and counted, Welch said. Ohio was among the last states to create such a statute. He argued that rising numbers do not necessarily mean abuse is getting worse, but that more victims now feel safe enough to contact law enforcement and the courts.
The new advocate is meant to close a gap after a case ends. Until now, Welch said, the office had no reliable way to hand victims off to other agencies once court proceedings concluded. Advocates in the office take part in training throughout the year and help survivors stay connected to housing, counseling and court support services.
Local help is led by Transitions Zanesville, which serves Muskingum, Morgan and Perry counties. The organization operates an eight-bedroom emergency shelter for survivors and their children and runs a 24-hour hotline at 740-454-3213. In 2025 it fielded 4,147 crisis calls, an increase of more than 22 percent from the year before, and recorded 3,421 overnight shelter stays.
Community support is also growing. The annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes fundraiser, hosted this month by the prosecutor’s office with the Domestic Violence Coalition and Transitions, raised more than $11,000 for court advocacy, rent help for victims who miss work for court, and next year’s event. For survivors like Nashport resident Mary Alice Smith, who is living on her own for the first time in six decades and now volunteers with a local women’s auxiliary, advocates say that steady, practical support is what makes starting over possible.