Crime & Safety

Judge Sends Woman Who Bit Off Chunk of Boyfriend's Ear to Anger Management

A man who lost a big part his ear with in a violent argument with his ex-girlfriend said she was tearing at it "like a dog would."

The Michigan woman who bit off a chunk of her boyfriend’s ear during a heated argument last year has been ordered by a judge to enroll in anger management classes as a condition of probation.

Danielle Nebelung, 32, of Macomb Township, was sentenced Friday in Macomb County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. In exchange for the plea, the judge dismissed a felony charge of assault with intent to main and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault, the Detroit Free Press reports.

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The plea came two days before Nebelung’s retrial on the more serious charges was set to begin. A mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked in March.

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Nebelung testified in her first trial that she was defending herself from her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Caruso, and accidentally bit off part of his ear.

However, when he applied for a personal protection order against Nebelung, Cruso accused her of jumping on his back and tearing back and forth at his ear with her teeth “like a dog would.”

Also as a condition of probation, Nebelung is prohibited from having contact with Caruso and must undergo random drug testing. If she stays out of trouble for a year and completes the anger management class, she can ask for early release from probation.

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Photo via Macomb County Sheriff’s Office

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