A 25-year-old woman in Missouri faced her boyfriend in court this week after he was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault.
The couple, who have been together since 2004, had apparently been drinking heavily before a heated argument broke out that left the victim, Melinda Abell, with a cell phone stuck in her throat.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys for the couple argued as to whether the boyfriend actually shoved Abell's cell phone down her throat in a jealous rage or whether she swallowed it on her own in an attempt to hide recently dialed numbers to other men.
A hospital spokesman said the young woman is expected to fully recover from her injuries.
"She was exceptionally lucky that her mouth and throat were large enough to accommodate the cell phone and still have enough room to allow air to pass through to her lungs," the spokesman said.
Abell, nicknamed
deep throat by the press, said because this case has become so widely publicized she has been inundated with phone calls from hundreds of men in her hometown and some from as far away as Europe who are hoping for a chance to wine and dine her.