Woman charged with murdering ex says it was self defense

A Flathead Valley woman accused of murdering her ex-husband, who had a history of domestic violence incidents, entered a not guilty plea Tuesday as her attorney maintained she shot the man in self-defense.

Rachel Ann Bellesen, 37, of Lakeside, was being held in the Sanders County Detention Center on $200,000 bond after being charged with one count of deliberate homicide in the shooting death of Jacob Angelo Glace, 44, of Plains, in the Paradise area on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 8.

Bellesen made her initial appearance in court Tuesday in front of District Court Judge James A. Manley. He reduced her bail to $20,000 after hearing from her attorney, Lance Jasper, and others.

Bellesen, who is employed by the Abbie Shelter, a Kalispell-based neighborhood domestic and sexual violence service provider, posted the bond and was released from jail Tuesday afternoon.

According to Sanders County Detention Supervisor Shawna Chenoweth, Bellesen must wear a monitor for alcohol.

An autopsy conducted Oct. 14 revealed five bullet entry wounds were found in Glace’s body. Two bullets recovered from his head were consistent with being fired from a 9mm pistol. They also reported finding evidence his body had been moved a very short distance after the shooting.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Glace’s criminal history and the circumstances surrounding the shooting came into question.

When the couple lived in the state of Washington, Glace pleaded guilty by way of Alford to fourth degree assault-domestic violence and third degree malicious mischief-domestic violence in 2004.

A 2010 court document showed Glace was guilty of partner or family member assault in Flathead County stemming from an incident in August 2009.

Then, in April 2020, Glace was charged with felony partner family member assault after he allegedly punched a Plains woman in the face in front of her three children.

The woman testified on Bellesen’s behalf at Tuesday’s hearing.

The victim shared her experiences with Glace with the Daily Inter Lake.

“I met Jacob in February 2010 and we started dating in April,” she said. “We were together until December 2019 and lived together until he hit me in front of my kids in March 2020.”

The younger two of the three children were Glace’s.

“He was very abusive across the board, sexually, physically, emotionally and financially,” the victim said. “An investigation against him was opened in June for sexually assaulting one of the kids.”

But a charge hadn’t been filed at the time of Glace’s death.

Then, in May 2020, Glace was charged with partner family member assault in St. Regis, Mineral County, after a woman said her boyfriend, Glace, had been involved in an argument and she feared for her safety.

RECORDS FROM 911 call logs in Sanders County illustrate what took place that night.

A 911 call at 7:56 p.m. Oct. 8 indicated Bellesen told a dispatcher she allegedly reported “I killed somebody.”

Bellesen was recorded saying she needed police, was at a gas station in Hot Springs and she had killed somebody before telling the dispatcher “I need you to talk to my husband please.”

When the dispatcher tried to determine her location, the call was disconnected. But less than one minute later, Corey A. Bellesen, Rachel’s current husband, called 911.

He reported to the dispatcher his wife was involved in an incident where she was speaking with her ex-husband when he tried to rape her and she shot him.

A Hot Springs Police officer arrived at the convenience store and took Rachel Bellesen into custody and collected a Glock 9mm handgun. Bellesen was taken to Paradise where she described the location of the shooting because officers wanted to determine if Glace was alive or dead.

Officers found his body where Rachel Bellesen allegedly told them Glace was located. They saw a bullet wound in the back of his head and one in his stomach.

A Sanders County detective then moved Bellesen from the Hot Springs Police officer’s vehicle to his vehicle to take her to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office for an interview. He asked her if Glace had sexually assaulted her and she said he had, including one time inside the vehicle and one time outside of it.

The detective then took Bellesen to Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains for an exam. While there, Bellesen allegedly told two nurses she wasn’t raped, but Glace had attempted to rape her.

The detective collected bodily fluids and clothing from Bellesen before taking photos to document her injuries.

After she was taken to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, another detective read Bellesen her rights again and she requested an attorney. She was then arrested, booked and told she would be charged with homicide.

ACCORDING TO the charging document, later that evening, Rachel’s husband, Corey Bellesen, arrived with clothing for her. He agreed to a gunshot residue test and to speak with investigators.

Corey said he explained he had worked in Kalispell that day before returning home at about 5 p.m. He said he was home for an hour or two before Rachel called him screaming in a panic. After he met her in Hot Springs, he said she was fairly incoherent and could hardly tell him what happened.

Rachel told Corey there was a struggle, Jacob tried to rape her and she pulled the gun out and shot him, the charging document indicates.

Corey said he has been married to Rachel since 2012 and he didn’t know why she and Glace were together. He said Rachel never told him she was going to Plains that day and he didn’t know the last time Rachel and Jacob had seen each other. He did say they had been communicating by phone.

The detective asked Corey for his phone and the detective noted Rachel sent a text message at 4:01 p.m. to Corey stating “work is busy, I’ll see you late tonight.”

According to the criminal complaint, Corey also told the detective he had no idea when or where Rachel had picked up Glace.

BELLESEN’S ATTORNEY, Lance Jasper, maintains Bellesen met with Glace Oct. 8 because he hadn’t been violent with her since 2005 and that he was threatening to hurt one of their sons.

Jasper said he believes if Rachel hadn’t shot Glace, she would be dead.

“He picks this spot down by the river, the perfect spot to rape her,” Jasper said. “He had nothing to lose. He had two pending felonies and he was couch-surfing and hiding from authorities after the PFMA (partner or family member assault) charges.

“Rachel’s shirt, bra and the zipper on her pants was ripped and she had bruising and scratches on her body.”

Court documents indicate Glace and Bellesen had troubles with each other dating back at least 10 years in the Flathead. Each also had run-ins with law enforcement in the past.

A decade ago, Bellesen, who was known as Rachel Ann Hansen then, received a temporary order of protection in Flathead County against Glace after she alleged he threatened to take their two boys, then ages 9 and 10, to Alaska and she would never see the children again.

The order was dismissed when neither Hansen nor Glace showed up for a hearing Feb. 28, 2011.

FOR BELLESEN, or Hansen as she was known before her marriage to Corey Bellesen, most of her past troubles were alcohol-related.

After a November 2012 drunk-driving crash, the charging document indicated Hansen had DUI convictions in 2006, 2011 and 2012.

A year later in November 2013, Bellesen was arrested for DUI.

After pleading guilty to both DUI charges, Bellesen was sentenced in 2014 to 13 months to the Department of Corrections for placement in a treatment facility followed by a three-year suspended sentence. She received a five-year suspended sentence on the other DUI charge.

In November 2019, Bellesen was granted a conditional discharge from supervision after completing the requirements of her probation.

Hilary Shaw, Bellesen’s supervisor at Abbie Shelter, described her employee’s alcohol problems as being associated with being a victim of domestic abuse.

“Rachel is a skilled social worker and has always had a soft spot for victims of domestic violence,” Shaw said. “Suffering from addiction is a common symptom of domestic violence.”

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com