Man convicted in assault case

The Daily Inter Lake

A Marion man has been convicted of beating a woman, threatening to kill her and then holding a knife to her throat.

Michael John Ferrell, 46, pleaded no contest to felony criminal endangerment during a change-of-plea hearing Thursday in Flathead County District Court.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon against Ferrell.

According to court documents, when Flathead County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Moose Crossing campground in Marion early on Oct. 16 - the second time that night law enforcement officers were dispatched to a disturbance between the couple - they found the woman with severe bruises on her face.

The woman, who was treated at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, told investigators Ferrell repeatedly punched and kicked her over a period of three hours. Prosecutors allege Ferrell hit the woman hard enough to break her false teeth into pieces.

On three separate occasions, Ferrell pulled the woman's head back and held a knife with a 4-inch blade to her throat, threatening to kill her, according to court documents.

Ferrell, who is incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center, is scheduled to be sentenced May 12.