Bond set for suspect in shooting

Rebecca Ann Braunig-Haag charged with deliberate homicide in husbands death

Bond is set at $500,000 for a North Fork woman accused of shooting her husband to death on Monday.

Rebecca Ann Braunig-Haag, 51, appeared Wednesday before Justice of the Peace David Ortley. County Attorney Ed Corrigan on Wednesday filed a charge of deliberate homicide against her.

Petite and speaking slowly in court, Braunig-Haag said she is retired. Her family is working on finding an attorney to represent her, she told Ortley.

In the interim, he appointed public defender Dean Knapton to begin her legal work.

Braunig-Haag told Ortley she has a question about something that I was asked to provide, which, to me, was irregular.

Ortley advised her to talk to her lawyer about it since he is not able to give legal advice.

Corrigan said he decided to file deliberate homicide charges against Braunig-Haag rather than the lesser offense of mitigated deliberate homicide.

He could adjust the charge later if a psychiatric evaluation or physical evidence turns up any reason to reduce the charge.

Braunig-Haag has reportedly said that her husband, Von Stanley Haag, 60, threatened to burn down their North Fork home if she did not accompany him on a trip back to Texas. The couple had moved from Texas a year or two ago.

Detectives with the Flathead County Sheriffs Office, though, reportedly found no gasoline at the home that would have backed up Braunig-Haags allegation.

Haag was shot once in the chest and died inside the home. An autopsy showed a bullet hit him in the middle of his chest, killing him nearly instantly, Undersheriff Mike Meehan said.

If convicted of deliberate homicide, Braunig-Haag could be sentenced to life or up to 100 years in prison. The sentence could be enhanced by two to 10 years for the use of a firearm.

Braunig-Haag will next appear in court Nov. 23 when she is scheduled to enter a plea.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com