Libby woman charged in embezzlement

A Libby woman has been charged with embezzling from her Kalispell employer under duress by her boyfriend, now deceased.

Kayla D. Mahlen, also known as Kayla Fleck, 24, is charged with felony counts of forgery and theft. She pleaded not guilty and the matter is scheduled for trial July 3.

According to the criminal complaint against her, Mahlen worked at Alliance Title and Escrow in October 2005. Travis Smith, her boyfriend, told her to embezzle money from the business. She said he threatened to kill her.

On about Oct. 11, 2005, Mahlen opened a file at Alliance, forged the name in the computer and issued a check for $239,000 to Smith. He went to the office and picked up the check. He deposited it into his bank account and withdrew $40,000 the next day, court documents show.

Mahlen left work for lunch Oct. 18 and never returned to her job.

Smith was charged with multiple counts of assault on Mahlen and two counts of theft in the matter. A warrant listing a $500,000 bond was issued for his arrest.

He was considered "extremely dangerous" by law enforcement when he was recognized in November at a Town Pump store on U.S. 93 in Hamilton. When he was cornered by the Missoula SWAT team there, he apparently shot himself to death in the restroom.

Smith apparently had a violent history.

He had been dating Mahlen for only two weeks when he gave her a black eye, according to court documents.

"Since the original assault, the defendant would routinely 'beat the crap' out of Mahlen," the records show. Her co-workers noticed her bruises.

After Mahlen allegedly embezzled the money, Smith thought she had told someone about the theft, and he rammed her head against the dashboard of his vehicle. He told her she deserved to die and that he was going to kill her, documents show.

"The defendant then pulled out a knife and threatened to slit [Mahlen's] throat," according to documents.

Later that evening, he assaulted her, threatened her again with the knife, punched her, bit her nose, and pulled a large portion of hair from her scalp, the report said.

Smith's history included aggravated assault just months before in Lewis and Clark County, where he reportedly left his former girlfriend with permanent nerve damage.

He had been convicted of burglary in 1992, robbery in 1993, escape in 1995, and forgery.

Despite Smith's alleged influence on Mahlen, prosecutors decided to charge her with theft and forgery. If convicted, she faces as long as 30 years in prison.