THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. (AP) â For a moment, the entire courtroom froze.
Judge Amy Eddy had spent the last several minutes winding her way through a painstakingly detailed explanation of her impending decision, touching on each argument she had been presented with while alternately glancing at prosecutors, defense attorneys and Rachel Ann Bellesen, the 37-year-old mother of four sitting stoically with the weight of the last seven months dangling over her head.
Then two heavy words knifed through the tension in the crowded room: âwith prejudice.â
When the power of those words eventually sunk in, Bellesen leaned back in her chair, opened her mouth wide and let out a long-stifled sigh, expelling much of the fear, anger and horror sheâd been carrying for the 229 days since she said she killed her ex-husband in self-defense.