Following an autopsy and investigation, West Richland police say the 53-year-old Pasco woman found dead early Sunday morning in an apartment died of strangulation.

Alisa J. Brewer was found undressed and with a belt that had been tightened around her neck, to the point where it apparently strangled her. The man in custody and facing 2nd degree assault and homicide charges initially told police he was going to shoot himself, before he finally gave up.

A 911 call came in around 1:00am, at the Fairwood Manor Apartments in West Richland. They found 24-year-old William C. Lee, he had apparently fired a shot into the ceiling while on the phone with police. He was in the apartment where Brewer was found dead.

The SWAT team finally negotiated him to come out and surrender.  No other details were released by police, but deaths of this nature are shockingly not that rare.

According to various sources, autoerotic asphyxiation, also known as Hypoxiphilia, is a practice some people use to heighten feelings and sensations of climax during sexual activity. The light headed feeling caused by oxygen deprivation reportedly allows a person to achieve sensations beyond what is usually experienced. It can be done by one's self, or with a partner. A belt or other rope or strand is used to 'strangle' or deprive the person of air, sometimes it's done by choking.

However, numerous medical journals and officials say it's a very dangerous and sometimes fatal practice, as many have died during the experience. Psychology Today says (as of 2014) anywhere from 250 to 1,000 deaths occur in the U.S. related to this practice.

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