Havre man sentenced for strangling wife

A Havre man received three years probation Thursday in District Court for beating and strangling his wife.

Christopher Michael Voss, born in 1986, received separate three year deferred imposition of sentences for the offenses of strangulation of a partner or family member and tampering with a witness or informant, both felonies. The sentence is part of a plea deal that dismissed a felony assault with a weapon charge. Voss has served 112 days in jail.

Voss said he wanted his family back and was not going to do anything he wasn’t supposed to anymore.

“People get to a certain age and they’re anxious to change,” District Judge Daniel Boucher said when imposing the sentence. “They’re tired of that life.”

Officers responded to an Oakwood Village apartment June 24 after a neighbor reported a domestic disturbance.

Police responded and after repeated knocking, Voss’ wife, who was “visibly upset,” opened the door, with an infant in her arms.

The woman said she was afraid of her husband, Voss, because he had beaten her up. The officers noticed the apartment was a mess and things were on the floor.

The argument, the woman said, was over her husband wanting to buy a detox kit so he could apply for a job on the railroad and her refusing to spend money on it. They began arguing and Voss held her down in the hallway and began strangling her. She became dizzy but did not black out, she told officers, adding Voss said he would kill all of them.

The woman said she tried to leave but Voss would not let them. As she tried to get her phone, a scuffle ensued and she defended herself with a curling iron, court charging documents say. Voss took her phone and threatened to kill his wife while pointing the phone at her. After more pleas for him to leave, Voss left.

Officers noticed red marks and scrapes on the woman’s arms, a bruise on her leg and red marks on her neck, “consistent with strangulation.”