A Linn County jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts for an Albany man standing trial for the attempted murder of his ex-wife.
The jury, which came back on Wednesday afternoon, was unanimous in finding Michael Keith Iverson, 60, guilty on felony charges of second-degree attempted murder and domestic violence strangulation, and a misdemeanor charge for interfering with making a report to law enforcement.
During the two-day trial, Iverson’s defense attorney argued that Iverson did not intend to murder his ex-wife when an argument escalated into his choking her on their front porch in April.
The prosecution countered, pointing to his mid-attack threats to kill her, which made his intent clear.
The victim had told officers she experienced “many domestic violence incidents” during their marriage and finally divorced Iverson, but he refused to move out. The two stayed in separate areas of the house, and she was intending to evict him, according to an Albany Police Department affidavit.
She said she was lying on a living room couch when Iverson came in angry, and an argument over his wanting her to make him a dental appointment ensued. She felt no obligation to do so.
Trying to escape the hostility, the woman eventually ran out to the front porch, but Iverson followed and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing until she began losing consciousness. He reportedly threatened multiple times that he wanted to kill her.
The couple’s adult son intervened, physically separating them. She said she would have died if not for their son’s quick actions to separate her and her ex, adding she recently suffered a stroke, and another stroke would likely prove fatal.
While she was trying to call 911, Iverson threw bottles of water at her, knocking her cellphone from her hand and hitting her in the leg, leaving a mark on her left thigh.
“(She) told me that Michael is very angry at her because he was not awarded anything in the divorce, and he had wasted $50,000 he had saved up,” Officer Nathan Ard wrote in the affidavit. She said Michael wants her to give him “a large sum of money, and she is refusing.”
Four Albany officers, accompanied by a K-9, arrested Iverson at home, according to the affidavit, but not before he locked himself in a bedroom and cursed at police. Eventually he was taken into custody.
Iverson is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Rachel Kittson-MaQatish on March 27. He has been held at the Linn County Jail on $250,000 bail since April.
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