The evening of a drunken argument with her boyfriend, Michelle D. Hawn’s weapon of choice was a vacuum cleaner.
“She described holding it like a toilet plunger over her head” as she inflicted blows on victim Todd Proetel, fracturing his skull, Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino told Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis.
It was the plastic upright Dirt Devil that upped the penalties against the Hazel Dell woman at her Wednesday sentencing.
She was given 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree assault domestic violence — and a year of that sentence was the result of a deadly weapon enhancement added because she used the vacuum cleaner.
The standard sentencing range of second-degree assault is three to nine months in jail. Hawn has no prior criminal record.
Prosecutors initially charged Hawn, 37, with first-degree assault. She was offered the plea deal because her attorney contended Hawn lacked criminal intent to seriously hurt her former boyfriend.
She will receive credit for the 203 days she’s spent in the Clark County Jail, as part of Lewis’ sentence.
Gasperino said the assault happened the night of Aug. 3 at the couple’s home, when they began “arguing about infidelity issues in their relationship.” Deputies responded to Callaham’s Mobile Manor, 10804 N.E. Highway 99, and found Proetel lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
The responding deputy’s report said that Hawn ran to a neighbor’s house after the attack, crying and saying, “Todd beat me up.” However, deputies wrote that after her arrest, “there were no outwardly visible signs of recent abuse” on Hawn’s face and body.
Hawn later admitted to losing her temper and bludgeoning Proetel, Gasperino said.
Proetel was taken to Southwest Washington Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for several days. Prosecutors said he has since recovered.
Proetel was not at the sentencing hearing.
Defense attorney Susan Stauffer said Hawn has mental health issues — court records show she has a history of bipolar disorder — which were compounded by her alcohol consumption that night and played a significant role in the attack. She wasn’t taking her medication, was delusional and isn’t tolerant of alcohol, the attorney said.
Hawn could only remember fragments of the event, Stauffer said.
“The worst-case scenario basically transpired,” she said.
Stauffer said Hawn has since broken up with Proetel and plans to move to Cowlitz County to live with her mother upon her release from prison.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
