Crime & Safety
Autopsy: 'Sleeper Hold' Killed Katie Gillihan
Solano County Coroner determines cause of death of 26-year-old Benicia woman.
The autopsy on , who was found dead in her Benicia home in February, shows she died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation with carotid sleeper hold, Benicia police said Friday.
The sleeper hold is a chokehold that compresses the carotid arteries or jugular vein without putting pressure on or damaging the trachea.
The Solano County District Attorney has asked that no other information from the autopsy be released at this time. Dane Neilson, the deputy district attorney handling the case, was not available for comment nor was Ken Lee, the public defender assigned to represent , the man accused of murdering Gillihan.
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Disa is being held at the Solano County jail in Fairfield. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 31.
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