'Choking game' killed girl, police say

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A dangerous game appears to have cost a young girl her life.

According to St. Petersburg police, 11-year-old Deneathia Service died June 15 while playing a choking game, also called "suffocation roulette.'

Officials said Service had been playing the game with her younger sister while their mother was out running errands.

Service's older brother discovered her unconscious with a belt tied around her neck. He immediately cut the belt with a knife but she showed no signs of life.

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She was pronounced dead at Bayfront Medical Center.

Officials said Service had attached a belt to a shelf in a closet, then tied it around her neck. The girl was playing the game, which can provide a druglike high from the lack of oxygen.

According to numbers from the Center for Disease Control, at least 82 children and teenagers have died from the game since 1995. The majority of those deaths were boys.

Officials said the warning signs can be marks on children's necks, frequent and sometimes severe headaches and random dog leashes, belts or bungee cords lying around.

Service's funeral service was last Saturday at Bethel Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg.

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