Rachel Bellesen Biography – Wiki
Rachel Bellesen, On October 8, 2020, Rachel Bellesen shot and killed her ex-husband Jacob Glace in a town called Paradise, Montana, then drove to Hot Springs and called 911, AP News reported based on court documents. Bellesen reported that she shot Glace in self-defense when he attacked her and attempted to sexually assault her, but her attorneys said the police did not take her claim seriously and investigated her attempted rape.
According to Bellesen’s attorney, she had agreed to meet with Glace because she had threatened to harm one of their children. She said they were involved in a dispute over her son’s sexual orientation and Bellesen said Glace was homophobic and had threatened to “beat homosexuality out of her son,” wrote Oxygen.com.
Age
Rachel Bellesen’s age is unknown.
Criminal History
Glace had a criminal record as an abuser, AP News wrote, with a Washington conviction that came after he assaulted Bellesen in 2004. He had also been charged with assault by a family member on another victim on two separate occasions in the months before his death. death. The day after Glace’s shooting death, Bellesen was charged with deliberate manslaughter and she spent three weeks in jail until her bail was lowered to $ 20,000 and she was released on bail.
Permanently Cleared in Abusive Ex-Husband’s Death
Montana Deputy Attorney General Chris McConnell was assigned as a special counsel in the case and said the evidence was not enough to convict Bellesen, AP News reported. The state filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice, but that would mean that Bellesen could be charged with deliberate manslaughter at any time in the future, but that was contested by Bellesen’s attorneys.
The case went before a judge for a ruling and Judge Amy Eddy ruled in favor of the defense, determining that the case should be dismissed with prejudice. After she was permanently acquitted, Bellesen said, “When she said ‘dismissed with prejudice’, just for a second I said, ‘Okay, and?’” Reported AP News. “And then I realized that that was it, that she had finished speaking, and it was surreal.”
Bellesen’s attorney, Lance Jasper, told Oxygen.com that he never expected to contest a motion to dismiss the charges in a deliberate manslaughter case, but said he knew that the fair termination was not enough for Bellesen, who would have had to live with the possibility of being charged again hanging over your head.
Bellesen argued that the state tried to silence her by arresting her and charging her in the same way that her ex-husband did many years before. “Just like Jake tried so hard over the course of more than 20 years, the state of Montana again tried to silence my voice,” she said, according to the Daily Beast. “At first they declared me a murderer, they claimed that I executed an innocent man in cold blood. They took my life, the lives of my loved ones, tore everything apart with his horrible claims, and then tried to walk away when they realized they had no case. “She continued:
It was eerily similar to when an abuser attacks you—and then tries to serve a sad excuse of apology with a bouquet of flowers the next morning, expecting you to just take them in gratitude, say nothing, and go on about your day like nothing happened. No.
Bellesen’s employer, the domestic violence shelter run by director Hilary Shaw, released a statement supporting Abbie Shelter’s advocate, stating: “The indictment documents themselves support that, on the day of the tragedy, Mr. Glace physically and sexually assaulted Rachel. His shirt, bra, and pants were ripped, and Mr. Glace’s scratch marks were on Rachel’s chest. Had the assault continued, Rachel would have suffered (at the very least) a complete rape by Mr. Glace. ”
Shaw asked the public to contact the Attorney General’s Office to push for the Bellesen case to be dropped with prejudice, according to the Abbie Shelter website.
