Cell phone not swallowed — It was shoved down Melinda Abell's throat by her boyfriend

Just in on the crime wire, new developments in the high–profile Blue Springs, Missouri cell phone case.

To recap: as of Monday the police believed that Melinda Abell, 24, had intentionally swallowed a cell phone early on the morning of Friday, December 23, to end an argument with her boyfriend, 24–year–old Marlon Brando Gill (above), about the device.

She was taken by ambulance to St. Mary's Hospital in Blue Springs, where the phone was surgically removed.

Ms. Abell was unable to speak with investigators until she had recovered sufficiently from her operation: when she did, an entirely new account of Friday morning's events unfolded.

Yesterday Mr. Gill was charged with first–degree felony assault for allegedly forcing the cell phone down Ms. Abell's throat.

Jackson County Prosecutor Michael Sanders told the Associated Press that police are currently searching for Mr. Gill, who remains at large.

He is said to be 5 feet 9 inches tall and 180 pounds.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked by Blue Springs police to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

No word on whether Mr. Gill is considered dangerous or why the photo released by police appears to show him swathed in a blanket.

Ms. Abell remains hospitalized but her condition is said to be improving.

Here's the latest, just in from the Hindustani Times (hey, we cover the waterfront).

Girl Swallows Cell, Lover Charged!

Prosecutors charged a Kansas City man with forcing a cell phone down his ex-girlfriend's throat last week, requiring emergency surgery to remove it.

Marlon Brandon Gill, 23, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree assault - a felony - in a case initially considered an oddity when it was reported that Melinda Abell had swallowed the cell phone herself during an argument with her boyfriend.

Jackson County Prosecutor Michael Sanders said that police were searching for Gill.

Abell told detectives that Gill, her ex-boyfriend, forced her from her house in the Kansas City suburb of Blue Springs on Friday morning and made her go with him in his vehicle, court documents show.

While on the road, Gill began screaming at her and demanded her cell phone, she said, adding that Gill then grabbed her by the mouth and shoved the cell phone into her mouth until it became lodged in her throat.

Blue Springs police were called to the scene and an ambulance took Abell to a Kansas City hospital, where she had surgery to remove the phone.

Police Sgt. Allen Kintz said investigators weren't able to talk to Abell until that evening because of the surgery, but didn't set out to trivialize what happened to her.

"Our initial press release was that she had swallowed a cell phone," Kintz said in an interview Tuesday.

"Subsequent investigation found that she didn't swallow the cell phone voluntarily. That was what we were told initially."



Abell and Gill did not have phone numbers listed under their names and could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.