SEATTLE — Former Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler has been found guilty of two counts of domestic violence assault against a former girlfriend.
Wheeler was charged with domestic violence assault and unlawful imprisonment after a 2021 arrest. After pleading not guilty, his trial was delayed repeatedly due to requests from his defense team to “get expert evaluations done.”
Wheeler, a backup offensive tackle for the Seahawks in 2019 and 2020, was arrested in January 2021 in Kent on suspicion of assaulting his then-girlfriend. He was later released from jail on $400,000 bond.
On Thursday, a King County jury found Wheeler guilty of single counts of first- and second-degree domestic violence assault. The jury also found him not guilty of unlawful imprisonment.
Wheeler was taken into custody and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 14. The state will seek a mandatory minimum sentence of five years after the jury found Wheeler used force or means likely to result in death.
On the night the woman called police, she said she was “being killed,” exclaimed “ow” several times, and begged for help and for police to break down a door to enter her home. Wheeler pushed her into the bathroom and locked the door when police arrived, and it took several officers to detain him, according to court documents.
The court documents said the woman lost consciousness “twice from two separate strangulations.” She regained consciousness to find a pool of blood on the bed, and alleged Wheeler calmly commented, “Oh, you’re still alive?”
The documents also said Wheeler pinned the woman down with his body. Wheeler is 6-foot-7 and weighs over 300 pounds.
The woman was treated at UW Valley Medical Center in Renton, and several health care workers testified about her injuries. She testified in court last month that she thought she was going to die.
Wheeler’s defense team argued throughout the trial that he had been experiencing a mental health episode on the night of the assault.
The Seahawks waived him shortly after his arrest, and he has not been on an NFL roster since.
