Teenage Girl Convicted of Strangling Man During Kinky Sex

A 16-year-old girl was convicted this week in Glendale, Arizona, after allegedly strangling her 43-year-old boyfriend to death during a consensual sex game of strangling eroticism, and was convicted of second-degree murder as an adult, despite many children and women’s advocacy groups purporting that she is truly the victim, a troubled underage girl who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and autism, and may not have been entirely aware of her choices or consequences. Women’s and children’s rights groups also claim she was exploited by the man, who was nearly three times her age at the time of the killing. The girl is now 18-years-old.

Glendale police say that Jessica Burlew willingly confessed to them that she used electrical wire to “garrote” Jason Ash, but when he lost consciousness, she began to cut him with a razor blade to wake him. She claims that because he did not offer a “safe word” — typically used by couples during sadist and masochist sexual encounters, she figured he was fine. But when he turned blue and failed to gain consciousness, she realized there was a problem and began to cut him with a razor in order to “wake him up with pain.” After that failed to work, she kept cutting him because she claimed she was stressed that she had killed him accidentally. Burlew also has engaged in self-cutting behaviors for years, and says it is a good stress relief, so she thought cutting him would relieve the stress that she had killed him.

This was not the first time that Burlew and Ash had participated in this type of sexual game, according to the Daily Mail. Restricting air supply through strangulation, though certainly not always safe, is said to lead to a more intense orgasm, which is why some couples employ it. However, most couples have a “safe word” — a word that they can use to say things have gone to far and need to stop. Ash, however, was apparently too starved for air to mutter the word, or Burlew says she did not recognize his signs of distress until it was too late. She then cut him to try to “wake him up,” but when he did not, she realized he was dead and cut him some more. She left him in the Glendale apartment, only to be discovered by her mother hours later, and her mother called 911, but Ash was long dead and pronounced dead at scene.

She called her mother to say that Ash had been hurt, but did not elaborate on his condition. The mother rushed home, but it was too late. It is unclear if how aware the mother was of her daughter’s relationship with Ash, nor the extent. She attempted CPR on Ash, but it was ineffective. Her daughter had fled the scene. Burlew was allegedly arrested wearing a burka and not giving her actual name to police, instead calling herself Xenia Mex, a name she apparently goes by on-line. Burlew’s mother says her daughter was “very confused and did not understand [the consequences] of her actions.” The gourette was still around Ash’s neck when he was discovered lifeless.

Many child advocates say this was completely unnecessary, and that Burlew was unaware of her actions due to mental diagnoses and the fact that she was allowed to date a 43-year-old man who introduced her to sado-masochism, and that she may not have been aware of the consequences of her actions and was easily influenced by an older man with no clear parental boundaries. In fact, schizophrenia has been indicated in hallucinations that may alter the ability to see and understand things.

[Photo via Glendale Mugshot]