Louis Michael Healy Found Guilty in U.S. Federal Court

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that on April 16, 2013, in Great Falls, after a federal district court trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, Louis Michael Healy, a 40-year-old resident of Hays and an enrolled member of the Fort Belknap Tribes, was found guilty of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, aggravated sexual abuse, and abusive sexual contact. Sentencing is set for July 26, 2013. He is currently detained.

At trial, the following evidence and testimony was presented to the jury.

On October 13, 2012, the victim drove Healy to the store where he bought several black cans of Smirnoff. After leaving the store, the victim drank a little from a can, and Healy drank one can very quickly. They drove to a hill where Healy drank two or three more cans of Smirnoff. The victim drank an additional can. Healy then asked the victim to marry him. The victim replied that she would not marry Healy unless he could prove he had ceased speaking with his ex-girlfriend.

Healy and the victim returned to his home on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. They turned on Healy’s computer and the victim read e-mails that indicated Healy was still speaking with his ex-girlfriend. The victim was sitting in a rolling computer chair. She became upset and Healy grabbed her neck with his right hand and pushed her across the floor in the chair. Due to the force of the push, she crashed and hit her head. When she awoke, Healy had his hand on her throat applying pressure. He then walked to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. Healy stood over the victim, placed the knife to her throat, and told her to get up.

The victim began to cry, her throat hurt, and Healy told her to get into the bedroom. He instructed her to lie down and said, “If you don’t stop —— crying, you know what you’re going to get, and we both aren’t coming out of the room, so stop —— crying.” At that point, the victim believed Healy was going to kill her. The victim continued to complain that her throat hurt, so Healy went to the kitchen where he returned with water and a popsicle. She then began to vomit due to the drinking or strangulation she had experienced. According to the victim, she spoke with Healy for a little bit while sitting on the bed until Healy grabbed her and sexually assaulted her while she continued to tell him to stop. Healy then told the victim to get back on the computer and instructed her to tell his ex-girlfriend that the victim was going to leave her alone.

Healy went to the bathroom after this instruction. The victim decided this was her chance to escape and she ran out of the house to the next door neighbor’s home. Healy realized the victim had run away and he chased after her, but she got inside the neighbor’s home safely.

The neighbors testified that they had awoken at approximately 4:00 a.m. to someone pounding on the door. The victim was at the door very upset and trying to get inside. The victim was crying and saying her boyfriend was trying to kill her. He had held a knife to her throat and she said, “He’s going to kill me.”

When law enforcement arrived at Healy’s home, Healy was walking and carrying two black bags. Healy was ordered to stop and Healy turned around and yelled, “F— you.” The police ordered Healy to the ground and pepper sprayed him in an effort to subdue him.

An ambulance arrived and transported the victim to the hospital where a nurse immediately assessed that the victim had trouble swallowing due to strangulation. The nurse noted the left side of the victim’s throat had a few areas of linear petechial, which is bruising around the throat. She applied ice and the victim told the nurse she was sexually assaulted and strangled. The hospital also performed a sexual assault examination. The victim ended up returning to the hospital a few days later due to continued throat pain and inability to swallow.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley prosecuted the case for the United States.

Healy faces possible penalties of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.