Berthold, ND: Domestic Turned Murder Investigated

Mar 1 2010 7:08PM
KXMCTV Minot
A Berthold man is being charged with murder, a double-A felony, following the death of his ex-wife early Sunday morning.

39-year-old David Marvin Hail made his first appearances in court today.

Catherine Ross has the latest on the details of the case.

Law enforcement officers are calling it a domestic-turned-deadly.

(Captain Todd Keller / Ward Co. Sheriff's Dept.) "We did arrest David Hail for murder yesterday about five o'clock."


An arrest prompted by a brief 9-1-1 call...but before the phone went dead...

(Captain Todd Keller / Ward Co. Sheriff's Dept.) "Dispatchers could hear noises in the background, sounded like a male and female arguing and fighting."


A fight deputies say allegedly led to the death of 44-year-old Noreen Tina Hail at the hands of her ex-husband.

(Captain Todd Keller / Ward Co. Sheriff's Dept.) "From the information we received, it started out as an argument and became a physical altercation between the two of them."


Deputies on scene spotted an unresponsive David Hail by looking in a bedroom window of the now-quiet trailer home.

(Captain Todd Keller / Ward Co. Sheriff's Dept.) "They did see blood on that individual's arms, they saw the individual had a knife, at that point is when they made entry. After entry was made, that was when they found the female's body."

The victim was found in a back bedroom, her phone, believed to used to make the 9-1-1 call, lying broken underneath her body. Deputies reported signs of a struggle, including broken glass in the home, and bottles of tequila and whiskey lying about

However, Captain Keller says the investigation is on-going.

(Captain Todd Keller / Ward Co. Sheriff's Dept.) "There's still information that we need to obtain from certain people, and of course, we're still going to do some more investigation at the scene."


David Hail was treated at Trinity Hospital in Minot for what are believed to be knife wounds to his arms

In his court appearance this morning, he said it would be a quote, a "waste of tax payer money" to fight the charges. However, by this afternoon, Hail accepted counsel from the state's public defender's office

But because of several outbursts in front of District Judge Doug Mattson, Hail will undergo evaluation, as per State request. Those comments included that he doesn't want to live.

Hail faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, without parole. In Minot and Berthold, Catherine Ross, KX News.

Hail is being held without bail at the Ward County Jail.

The victim's autopsy was completed today in Bismarck. Results have not been released.

A preliminary hearing has been set for April 8th.