Man accused of strangling MU student at dorm after being blocked on Snapchat
An Overland Park man is facing various domestic assault charges after allegedly strangling a person in a dorm room on the University of Missouri’s campus.
Maxwell Warren, 18, who attends Mizzou, faces one count each of first-degree burglary, first-degree domestic assault, second-degree domestic assault and fourth-degree domestic assault, according to a Boone County court document.
On Sept. 26, Warren showed up to the person’s room at a University of Missouri residence hall after the person had blocked him on Snapchat, according to a probable cause statement in support of Warren’s arrest.
Warren knocked on the door with the intention of confronting the person about having been blocked, according to the probable cause statement. When the person opened the door a sliver, Warren allegedly forced the door open, pushed the person against a bed and wrapped his hands around their neck.
The statement claims Warren strangled the person by applying pressure to their neck and throat, allegedly telling them, “What do you think you are doing? You need to add me back right now.”
The incident left a red mark in the shape of a hand on the victim’s neck, according to the probable cause statement. The victim unblocked Warren on Snapchat after the incident.
Two days later, the statement claims Warren messaged the victim on Instagram, “I remember getting really upset once or twice when I choked you.”
A follow-up message said, “I feel awful U deserve so much better,” according to the probable cause statement.
On Sept. 30, the victim and Warren were speaking through Snapchat when the victim brought up the incident, telling Warren he put his hands on them, according to the probable cause statement. Warren allegedly replied, “I would do it again,” along with expletive-laden expressions of hostility.
On the morning of Oct. 29, Warren contacted an individual asking to see the victim, according to the probable cause statement. Warren was allowed into the victim’s room, where it’s believed he was “under the influence of a narcotic when he attempted sexual advances” toward the victim.
The victim declined Warren’s advances, and Warren became “frustrated,” and strangled the victim again until they lost consciousness, according to the probable cause statement.
The probable cause statement, written by a University of Missouri police officer, claims the officer believes Warren poses a danger to the victim because he already had an active case for a domestic assault.
A second probable cause statement alleges Warren pushed a person to the ground in a university parking lot around 1:30 a.m. A passer-by intervened and left with the victim. It was unclear whether this was the same person as the victim in the dorm incident.
Warren allegedly told officers the person hit him at a bar and inside his vehicle before chasing him around his vehicle, according to the probable cause statement. Surveillance footage did not match Warren’s claims.
Warren is barred from the University of Missouri campus, classes and other university activities and events “pending further investigation into the allegations surrounding the criminal charges against him,” Christopher Ave, the university’s director of media relations and public affairs, told The Star in an email Thursday.
“The university does not tolerate acts of violence and holds accountable anyone found to violate the law or university policies,” Ave said.
Warren’s Instagram account claims he is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity on campus. However, the organization’s president, Keegan Stutzman, told The Star on Thursday that Warren is not a member of the fraternity.
Warren is being held in the Boone County Jail on no bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing. The jail also lists that Warren faces a summons for purchasing/attempting to purchase or possession of liquor by a minor.
Warren is scheduled to appear for a confined docket hearing on Nov. 10, according to court documents. He is set to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 9.
