Former Seahawk found guilty for brutally beating then-girlfriend in 2021
Former Seattle Seahawk Chad Wheeler has been found guilty of two charges stemming from a domestic violence incident in 2021.
The jury found Wheeler guilty on two counts of assault, and not guilty for unlawful imprisonment.
Deliberations started just days ago, but for the victim -- Wheeler’s ex-girlfriend Alleah Taylor -- this has been a long time coming.
She previously gave testimony laying out just a horrifying night she lived through in January of 2021.
“I thought I was going to die,” she described. “I couldn’t breathe -- I was terrified.”
Taylor said wheeler started getting aggressive earlier in the day. Then she says things escalated, describing how Wheeler pushed her on the bed and choked her into unconsciousness twice. She woke up with her face, clothes, and bed covered in blood.
With Wheeler now found guilty for first degree assault, the state can now seek a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. The addition second degree assault charge also lets the state “seek a sentence above the standard range,” the King County Prosecutor’s Office clarified.
Wheeler was taken back into custody this morning at the request of the prosecuting attorney’s office. We’ll see him back in court for sentencing on Dec. 14.
