Today marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the story you’re about to hear is sadly something that happens far too often. A young woman moves from California, where she has lived her whole life, to Iowa after landing her dream job as a news anchor at a network affiliate. Her new boyfriend follows her there and they begin a new life together.
One night, the relationship turns abusive and the police are called for a domestic disturbance. Iowa law dictates that during a domestic disturbance call one party must be arrested. He accuses her of abuse before she can defend herself or even seek private counsel. She is arrested, shamed and ridiculed in the community, and eventually loses her anchor position within months of moving there.
This is exactly what happened to journalist Danielle Miskell. Though called names from “abuser” by the public to “entitled” by the prosecution at trial, Miskell fought the domestic assault charges and was acquitted at trial with a unanimous verdict of not guilty.
Now, she is just looking to move forward with her career. As you will read in our conversation, she believes there are valuable lessons in her wild ordeal for those stuck in abusive situations or those unfairly charged. I spoke with Miskell about the realities of what she faced from this traumatic experience, as well as the positive takeaways she learned.
Steve Baltin: What happened the night you were arrested?
Danielle Miskell: I knew I was in an unhealthy relationship and I needed to get out. My ex had a bad temper, and he showed signs that he was jealous and controlling, to the point when I prepared to move out of our apartment, this whole incident came about. Earlier that night, my ex sent me angry and jealous texts while I was away at a business dinner, and he started berating me when I came home. The argument escalated into a fight when he showed he was recording me, and threatened to send the recording to my station and post it on his YouTube channel. As a new reporter, I didn’t know how this recording would affect my job, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong. I thought I could defend myself and protect my livelihood, but in the end I was no match for my ex. I felt helpless and trapped by him. He provoked me and then put me in a chokehold, lifted my body into the air by my neck, and body slammed me onto the bed while yelling, “I could kill you.” In that moment, I’ve never feared more for my life. When the police arrived, I didn’t know how to respond because I’ve never been in that situation before. I was very emotional and embarrassed because I worked with the police department daily on stories. I reserved my comments and tried to gather my thoughts because I was thinking about the ramifications of how this would affect my job. And I know it might not make sense to some people, but I also hesitated to tell the police how my ex just strangled me because I knew he would go to jail. Meanwhile, my ex was accusing me of assaulting him for “no reason” to the other arresting officer. I did not know the police were required to make a mandatory arrest, so when they told me I was going to be arrested, I was shocked and in disbelief because they didn’t have the full story. Even when I told them everything that happened and how my ex just strangled me, they failed to see merit in why I was willing to open up about the truth at that point. They still arrested me and I spent the night in jail.
Baltin: How did the arrest affect your relationship with your job?
Miskell: The last time I anchored was the weekend following my incident. Then the story about my arrest became public, so the station decided to take me off air and said it was to protect me from public scrutiny. News is a very image-driven industry and we’re held to higher standards. I knew that my situation was extremely controversial, which is why I’m so thankful for the colleagues who immediately stood by me when I felt ashamed and defeated coming to work. In the end, the station told me they were parting ways with me for reasons unrelated to my case. But as devastated as I was to lose the very thing I was trying to protect that night, it ended up being the best thing that could have happened for my mental health.
Baltin: What surprised you most about the public's response?
Miskell: I was surprised when I realized how capable the public is of seeing the real truth, despite the bad press. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life as when I saw my mug shot for the first time, and I could only have imagined how the public felt about me after reading about my arrest. Inevitably, I received a lot of hate messages, and because of that, I did not expect for the news of my verdict to receive such an overwhelming and positive response on social media. After my first encounter with the public being not so kind, I wasn’t sure if anyone would care what the outcome of my case was going to be. By the thousands, people shared how happy they were that I found justice, and said they knew I had been wronged all along. I was most humbled by the messages where people told me how much my boldness to take my case to trial inspired them.
Baltin: How were you characterized as a result of the bad press?
Miskell: I was called an “abuser” and other crass names. I was told that I didn't deserve to have a job and that I was never taken seriously; that I was a bad example to kids and that I should be ashamed of myself. The hardest part about being on the receiving end was that I couldn't stick up for myself and respond with, "You weren't there" or ask, "Would you have done anything different if it were you?" They had no idea what I went through that night, and both the police report, and subsequently the local media, did not mention anything that I told the police of what happened. I now know how difficult it is to deal with your personal affairs in the public spotlight and people are always going to be quick to condemn you. But as my therapist taught me, they’re all just projecting what’s going on in their own lives. Whenever I read something bad, I just turned my focus to God and to the people in my corner, and I used the injustice of the bad press to fuel my fight in getting the truth out at trial.
Baltin: What were the things that helped you get through this most?
Miskell: The support of my family and friends. My mother drove all the way to Iowa overnight to meet me when I was released from jail, and then spent a whole week with me in a hotel room helping me with next steps when I was too catatonic to figure out what to do. My dad flew out to help me move twice, and my family and friends regularly checked in with me. I’m very blessed to have their love and support, and it made me realize how important it is for someone to have a strong support system when dealing with trauma. I also had support from two domestic violence support groups, Waypoint Services and The Center for Women and Families, and I can attest to how helpful those organizations are in supporting victims of domestic violence. Besides having support, I found that getting back to my roots also helped me most. I started playing music with my dad again and going to church regularly with my mom, and it helped by reminding me of who I truly was in the midst of all the false perception.
Baltin: What ultimately made you decide to go to trial?
Miskell: I knew from the moment I was arrested I was going to have to fight this all the way, but I initially thought my case had a good chance of getting dismissed. I submitted evidence of my injuries to the arresting officers and asked if they would amend their report, but I never heard back. When I learned my ex wasn’t pressing charges against me and that he filed a petition to lift the no-contact order between us, I thought that would get my case dismissed, but the state still picked up my case. Upon hiring my attorney, she filed my justification for self-defense and I filed a petition for a civil no-contact order stating how my ex assaulted me. The judge dismissed my petition so that it would not interfere with the existing criminal no-contact order, and she reassured me my ex would be arrested if he contacted me. Months later, my ex emailed me and I filed an incident report, but he was never arrested. It was apparent my ex wasn’t in fear of his life by me, and when I tried to plead my case to the police, they said I was trying to “play victim.” When I went to a judge and asked for protection, I wasn’t given any and I was told I wasn’t scared for my life because I was trying to use the system against my ex. I felt so gas-lighted, and could finally understand why some people just give into taking the plea deals. Ultimately, I knew the truth. I was scared for my life and I was not guilty of assaulting my ex. The only fighting chance I had left was with the people of the jury, so I refused both plea deals and chose to go to trial.
Baltin: What were your biggest lessons from going through a trial experience?
Miskell: Trial is truly an intimidating experience and it’s why many defendants take the plea deals. My trial lasted two and half days, and over the course, the state brought in eight witnesses to testify against me: the 911 dispatcher, the two arresting officers, two forensic officers, the EMT, the 911 caller, and of course, my ex. Meanwhile, it was just my attorney and I defending my side of the case. When my attorney got the chance to cross-examine those eight witnesses, their testimonies actually ended up helping me. My attorney pointed out that the arresting officer’s shifts were about to end when I was arrested, which would explain their lack of interest in spending any more time re-evaluating who the real aggressor was. The EMT and forensic officers confirmed that markings from strangulation usually don’t appear right away, but in the following days rather. That explained why the officers didn’t see my swelling and bruising on the night of my arrest, but it came out in the photos I took the next day. The prosecutor claimed I was “entitled” and “expected special privileges because of my job.” He struck out circumstantial evidence that was critical to my case, including the text messages my ex sent me that night which explained the state of mind he was before I got home. It felt like endless opposition, and there was one thing left to do. I had to testify. I took the stand and was finally able to tell the truth from start to finish. I explained how I remained within my legal parameters by only proceeding to defend myself after I was physically threatened. The prosecutor tried disproving how my ex choked me, and I reminded him that my ex just nuanced twice during his testimony how he did it. What really saved me was the recording. The prosecutor presented an eight-minute audio recording that my ex submitted a week before trial. After listening to the entire recording it was evident that my ex premeditated this fight because we heard he was recording me before I even walked through the door. We could hear his aggression and it was clear he had every intention of provoking me into a career-ending situation. On the stand, my ex said the recording had not been edited, but you could clearly hear the audio skipping from one scene to the next, indicating my ex took out parts where he was showing aggression, like breaking the window. We heard moments where he had me pinned down saying, “You’re not strong enough.” He also said peculiar things into that recording like, “That’s all I need,” indicating his malicious intent, and conveniently ending the recording right before he choked-slammed me. The jury unanimously ruled that I was not guilty and I was acquitted of the assault charges. When I went to personally thank the members of the jury afterwards, select members told me that the officer’s testimonies as well as my ex’s contradicted each other numerous times. They said how sorry they were that I had to go through this because I didn’t deserve to be arrested, or have my case go as far as trial.
Baltin: What are the biggest positives you have taken away from this whole ordeal?
Miskell: I believe there is power in advocating for oneself. I strongly urge anyone reading this and facing an injustice to never stop advocating for their case. Be bold, be unstoppable, and never let anyone discourage you from fighting for your rights. Hang on to those who believe in you and encourage you, because they are your true friends. Do not let the system beat you down and make you feel manipulated. If you truly are not guilty, then have the courage to fight as I did, by refusing the plea deals, and taking your case to trial. I’m living proof that justice is attainable, because after four grueling months of being silenced and mistreated, I was finally vindicated.
Baltin: What do you hope others learn from your experience?
Miskell: We need to raise more awareness for the many defendants who have been falsely charged with domestic assault. I’ve heard stories where women were getting strangled by their abusers and bit their arms to be released, only to be arrested for those bite marks. People shared how they took plea deals and it ruined their lives. There are women fighting for custody of their kids against a criminal justice system that is trying to gaslight them by saying they’re not the victims, even when they’re the ones who called 911.This experience taught me how broken the criminal justice system is when it comes to the rights of defendants. We have little protection, no voice, and we’re treated as if we’re guilty, until on the off chance, proven innocent. I’m speaking out and sharing my story for them.
