By admin 
A man in the Upstate is heading to state prison after burning, slamming and choking his wife in front of their children, according to the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
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Austin Lewis Hazard, 31, pled guilty Wednesday to 1st-degree domestic violence before Circuit Court Judge R. Keith Kelly in Spartanburg. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to a news release.
The conviction stems from an incident on Dec. 30, 2024, where prosecutors say Hazard, while intoxicated, burned his wife — Mikayla Long — on the neck with a cigarette before headbutting her in the face and slamming her onto the kitchen floor.
Hazard then grabbed his wife of six years by the neck while she lied on the floor and strangled her, the release said.
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Long eventually escaped Hazard’s grasp and called family for help, according to the release.
Hazard has two prior convictions for 3rd-degree domestic violence, the release said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitor Grace Calhoun Kerley, who added that the couple’s children were witnesses to the violence against their mother, telling officers that “daddy slam mommy,” according to the release.
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