A Schuylkill County woman is accused of pinning her domestic partner to the floor and covering the woman’s mouth and nose until she could not breathe, the third case Tamaqua police have filed against her since May.
Ashley Kane, 37, of Tamaqua, is charged in the most recent incident with felony aggravated assault, felony strangulation, misdemeanor simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Danielle McNally, 29, who lives with Kane, is charged in the same incident with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Both are in Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post bail.
Tamaqua police were called to 32 E. Elm St. around 11:30 a.m. July 17 after a caseworker with Lehigh County Children and Youth reported a domestic disturbance to Schuylkill County 9-1-1, police say. Officers say they could hear yelling and screaming from the street and from the second-floor windows of the home. Kane met officers at the front door and was emotionally distressed.
Officers pulled Kane aside, and she spoke with a Schuylkill County crisis co-responder, police say. Officers then spoke with McNally, who was crying at the time of contact.
McNally told police that Kane slapped her and choked her, and that at one point Kane held her down, sat on top of her with all her weight and covered both her mouth and nose, preventing her from breathing. McNally told police she was turning blue and feared for her life during the incident.
Both women were taken into custody based on their statements and body camera footage, police say, and were transported to the Tamaqua police station and placed in separate holding cells.
Kane was already facing charges in two earlier cases at the time.
On May 20, an officer was dispatched to the same E. Elm St. address and found McNally in front of a home on Pine St., police say. She told the officer that Kane had been assaulting her for several days, and that Kane had been grabbing and punching her at their home before police arrived, police say. The officer reported seeing several scratches, lacerations and bruises on her arms, neck and chest. McNally told police she had been trying to get away from Kane without success, and that she was able to flee that day to a neighbor’s house, where a call was made to police. Kane left the scene in a Jeep Compass before officers arrived and did not return while the officer was there.
Police obtained a warrant, and Kane was arraigned May 26 on misdemeanor simple assault and harassment.
Officers were called to the address again around midday July 9 for a report of two women fighting in the stree. Two people at the scene told officers Kane and McNally were outside arguing and yelling again, police say. A neighbor across the street told officers he heard the two yelling even when they were inside the house but did not see any physical contact between them. Another neighbor said she was tired of the fighting and noise. Police say neighbors had complained about the two disrupting the neighborhood, and that neither woman has wanted to testify against the other.
Police later obtained video of the July 9 incident that they say shows the two yelling on the porch, with Kane pulling McNally by the hair and dragging her back into the house. Kane was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. McNally was not charged in that incident.
Both women were arraigned the afternoon of July 17 before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker. Kane’s bail was set at $50,000 and McNally’s at 10% of $10,000. Both were committed to Schuylkill County Prison and both remain incarcerated, as of Wednesday, according to county records.
Preliminary hearings in all of the cases are scheduled for Aug. 4 before Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer. Kane’s May case has been continued twice, from June 16 and July 14.
Schuylkill County Crisis & Support Resources
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence, free, confidential, and inclusive help is available 24/7 in Schuylkill County.
- Schuylkill Hope Center (Domestic Violence): Call the 24/7 hotline at (570) 622-6220, text HOPELINE to 20121, or visit schopecenter.org. Services include emergency shelter, housing assistance, counseling, and legal representation.
- SARCC (Sexual Assault): Call the 24/7 hotline at (570) 628-2965 or visit sarccheals.org for counseling, advocacy, and healing support for survivors of sexual violence.
- Outside Schuylkill County: Residents across Pennsylvania can find their local domestic violence program at pcadv.org. You can also visit domesticshelters.org to find resources near you.
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Bill Shugars
July 29, 2026 at 5:17 pm
More from the wacky world of LGBTQRSTUVXWXYZ…Mental Health!