MONROE - A rural Brodhead man and woman testified Monday in Green County Circuit Court that the man's estranged wife had tried to make good on threats to kill them.
The wife, Roxann D. Nordeng, 59, Brodhead, faces a Class B felony charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, stemming from an incident May 9 at a trailer in the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and the woman he lives with, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng showed up with a gun at their home at about 10:30 p.m.
"Roxann kicked the door open and she was pointing a gun at me," Arthur Nordeng said.
Ayotte said she moved in with Arthur Nordeng in early May 2011. His wife filed for a divorce from him about two weeks later, according to court records.
Arthur Nordeng said his wife has threatened to kill him and Ayotte "many" times during the past year.
"I can't remember them all. There's been so many of them," he said. "She said she was going to shoot Chasadie so I could watch Chasadie die."
Roxann Nordeng was wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic in a Ziploc bag, according to testimony from her husband, Ayotte and two Green County deputies who investigated the case.
Arthur Nordeng said he grabbed the barrel of the gun in a "death grip" to point it away from him, and in the ensuing struggle, the gun fired upwards, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the screen door. He testified that his wife's finger pulled the trigger, and after the gun went off, she fled the campground in a white van.
She was arrested hours later without incident at her home in Brodhead. Terry Argue, a Green County Sheriff's detective who investigated the case, said Nordeng did not appear to be under the influence of intoxicants that night. Her husband agreed.
Judge James Beer found probable cause that Noreng had committed a felony and scheduled her arraignment for 3 p.m. Thursday, May 24.
Defense attorney Philip Brehm said he would be challenging a charge of burglary against Nordeng, as evidence presented during the preliminary hearing showed she did not enter her husband's home during the incident.
Brehm also said he would be filing a demand for substitution of judge. Beer told him to wait until after the arraignment.
The wife, Roxann D. Nordeng, 59, Brodhead, faces a Class B felony charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, stemming from an incident May 9 at a trailer in the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and the woman he lives with, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng showed up with a gun at their home at about 10:30 p.m.
"Roxann kicked the door open and she was pointing a gun at me," Arthur Nordeng said.
Ayotte said she moved in with Arthur Nordeng in early May 2011. His wife filed for a divorce from him about two weeks later, according to court records.
Arthur Nordeng said his wife has threatened to kill him and Ayotte "many" times during the past year.
"I can't remember them all. There's been so many of them," he said. "She said she was going to shoot Chasadie so I could watch Chasadie die."
Roxann Nordeng was wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic in a Ziploc bag, according to testimony from her husband, Ayotte and two Green County deputies who investigated the case.
Arthur Nordeng said he grabbed the barrel of the gun in a "death grip" to point it away from him, and in the ensuing struggle, the gun fired upwards, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the screen door. He testified that his wife's finger pulled the trigger, and after the gun went off, she fled the campground in a white van.
She was arrested hours later without incident at her home in Brodhead. Terry Argue, a Green County Sheriff's detective who investigated the case, said Nordeng did not appear to be under the influence of intoxicants that night. Her husband agreed.
Judge James Beer found probable cause that Noreng had committed a felony and scheduled her arraignment for 3 p.m. Thursday, May 24.
Defense attorney Philip Brehm said he would be challenging a charge of burglary against Nordeng, as evidence presented during the preliminary hearing showed she did not enter her husband's home during the incident.
Brehm also said he would be filing a demand for substitution of judge. Beer told him to wait until after the arraignment.