A trial is under way in District Court in Kalispell in the case of a 35-year-old Kila man charged with severely beating a man he caught in bed with his wife.
Robert R. Derby III is charged with aggravated assault and criminal endangerment along with misdemeanor partner assault and endangering the welfare of children for the March 3, 2008 attack.
Derby’s attorney, Thane Johnson, argued Monday that his client suffered psychological and emotional distress when he saw his wife in bed with another man and “snapped.”
The man’s left eye was gouged out and he suffered a broken jaw and lacerated spleen, along with other injuries.
Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams argued in her opening statement that Derby knowingly beat the 29-year-old man and then called 911 to report the beating.
Johnson says Derby and his wife were separated, but had been working on reconciling their 15-year marriage.