The murder investigation of 28-year-old Kirkland resident Amy Hargrove has been referred to the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

Hargrove’s former boyfriend, Burrell Michael Cushman, has been confirmed as a suspect in the case, according to the King County Prosecutor’s spokesperson Dan Donohoe. Cushman was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in Seattle. Donohoe said that the prosecutors will make a decision whether to file any charges.

Hargove was found strangled to death in January at her mother’s house. Before the murder, she had filed a protection order against Cushman. In the 2012 petition, Hargrove claimed he had abused her for three years, including during her pregnancy, as well as raping multiples times and forcing her to have sex with one of his family members.

Previously, Hargrove had lost custody of her two children, blaming Cushman for having them in his car during a high-speed police chase in 2010.

Hargrove had a long history of abusive relationships, according to a 2004 declaration by Hargrove’s mother, which was written in a custody battle. In an attempt to gain custody of Hargrove’s oldest child, her mother said that Hargrove had a troubled past, which included a young pregnancy, drug abuse, emotional issues and a boyfriend who pleaded guilty to assaulting Hargrove.

Cushman was arrested in June after Seattle police were contacted about a possible domestic violence incident. Cushman and his pregnant girlfriend live in a home in Seattle on the same block where search warrants were served in Hargrove’s murder.

Cushman was eventually charged in the city of Seattle with two counts of assault. His pre-trail date is schedule for July 14 in that case, with bail set at $100,000.