Man Strangled Girlfriend Over Obit, Cops Say

SEPTEMBER 21--A Florida man assaulted his live-in girlfriend because she was looking at an obituary for a former boyfriend, police charge.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Jason Tackett, 38, was sitting on the couch with the victim Thursday when he became curious as to what she was looking at on her phone.

Tackett, cops allege, took the woman’s phone and “noticed she was looking at an obituary of an ex-boyfriend. The defendant became upset that she was looking him up (even though he is deceased).”

The 43-year-old victim told police that Tackett then threatened her and “began tearing the house apart.” When the woman tried to “get her phone back,” Tackett allegedly shoved her to the ground and “held his hands over her mouth and nose.”

The woman, cops noted, said she was “unable to breathe when he was smothering her.” When Tackett got up, the woman said, she ran from the Bradenton residence and screamed for neighbors to call 911.

Seen above, Tackett--who has lived with the victim for three months--was later arrested for domestic battery by strangulation, a felony. Tackett, who works for a truck repair firm, was freed from custody Saturday after posting $10,000 bond.

As a condition of his release, Tackett has been ordered to have no contact with the victim. According to court records, Tackett’s rap sheet includes felony convictions for robbery, fraud, and dealing in stolen property, as well as a misdemeanor drunk driving conviction. (2 pages)