MONROE - A Brodhead woman scheduled until recently to go to trial this week on charges of trying to kill her husband instead chose to enter a plea agreement.
Roxann Nordeng, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning, Nov. 14, to a Class F felony charge of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon.
The other charges against her, including attempted homicide, were dismissed but will be "read in" to the case, meaning Judge William Johnston can consider them in his sentencing.
"This was the most advantageous plea offer that was made to her in this case," said Philip Brehm, Nordeng's defense attorney.
Nordeng previously pleaded not guilty to all charges against her, by reason of mental disease or defect.
During Wednesday's plea hearing, however, she and her attorney told the judge she has no mental condition that would prevent her from moving forward with the plea agreement. She takes Effexor for treatment of her depression, she said.
"I do go to counseling," she told the judge, "but it's because of my own free will."
Nordeng was jailed following an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
She allegedly made good that day on numerous threats to kill her estranged husband Arthur R. Nordeng, 65, and his fiancee, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 28, by showing up at their trailer home carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel to point it away from him, the gun fired upward, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
She was released from jail Sept. 4 on a $25,000 cash bond.
The Nordengs have since divorced. Ayotte and Arthur Nordeng sat together at the hearing Wednesday and say they're engaged to be married next spring.
Brehm clarified at Wednesday's hearing that Roxann Nordeng has denied the first charge against her, a Class A felony count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
"I think it's important to note that she denies the conduct in count one," Brehm said.
Nordeng's sentencing is scheduled Jan. 23.
Roxann Nordeng, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning, Nov. 14, to a Class F felony charge of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon.
The other charges against her, including attempted homicide, were dismissed but will be "read in" to the case, meaning Judge William Johnston can consider them in his sentencing.
"This was the most advantageous plea offer that was made to her in this case," said Philip Brehm, Nordeng's defense attorney.
Nordeng previously pleaded not guilty to all charges against her, by reason of mental disease or defect.
During Wednesday's plea hearing, however, she and her attorney told the judge she has no mental condition that would prevent her from moving forward with the plea agreement. She takes Effexor for treatment of her depression, she said.
"I do go to counseling," she told the judge, "but it's because of my own free will."
Nordeng was jailed following an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
She allegedly made good that day on numerous threats to kill her estranged husband Arthur R. Nordeng, 65, and his fiancee, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 28, by showing up at their trailer home carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel to point it away from him, the gun fired upward, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
She was released from jail Sept. 4 on a $25,000 cash bond.
The Nordengs have since divorced. Ayotte and Arthur Nordeng sat together at the hearing Wednesday and say they're engaged to be married next spring.
Brehm clarified at Wednesday's hearing that Roxann Nordeng has denied the first charge against her, a Class A felony count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
"I think it's important to note that she denies the conduct in count one," Brehm said.
Nordeng's sentencing is scheduled Jan. 23.