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Columbia Falls Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Montana State Hospital in 2022 Fatal Stabbing

Zain Glass pleaded guilty to a felony count of negligent homicide in a stabbing that killed Lukas Davis two years ago

By Maggie Dresser
Zain Glass appears in Flathead County District Court in Kalispell for his sentencing hearing on Oct. 17, 2024, for fatally stabbing Lukas Davis, his sister’s boyfriend. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon

A 25-year-old man who admitted to fatally stabbing his sister’s boyfriend in Columbia Falls two years ago was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in the Montana State Hospital.

Zain Glass of Columbia Falls in August pleaded guilty to a felony count of negligent homicide before Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison.

Judge Allison also sentenced Glass to an additional three-year sentence in the Montana State Hospital stemming from a previous 2017 charge and probation violation, which will run concurrently, and ordered him to pay $8,487 in restitution to the crime victim’s compensation unit. Glass received credit for 759 days served.

As part of the plea deal, the initial deliberate homicide charge was amended to a felony count of negligent homicide. Glass’s public defenders Dianne Rice and Nick Aemisegger and Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner jointly recommended that the defendant be committed to the custody of the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to be placed at the Montana State Hospital for 20 years with credit for time served.

Glass previously pleaded not guilty to the original deliberate homicide charge in February 2024, more than a year after he was arrested in September 2022.

Shortly after Glass’s arrest more than two years ago, the defendant was deemed mentally unfit to enter a plea and was admitted to the Montana State Hospital where he was diagnosed with multiple disorders. He began a treatment plan and physicians conducted several fitness evaluations before he was transported to the Flathead County Detention Center almost a year later.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Glass apologized to the court and described Lukas Davis’s death as an accident.

“There had been an accident – my mind wasn’t in the right mindset,” Glass said. “My sister had been fighting with Lukas for a while and I was scared for the safety of her and myself. I apologize – there are things I should have done different. I can’t change what happened.”

While Judge Allison did not recognize the incident as an accident, he hoped Glass’s mental state would improve at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

“I don’t think this was an accident to any extent other than just the unfortunate tragic outcome of a life poorly lived up to that point that led us to where we are today, and I hope they keep you at Warm Springs for a while to make sure you’re doing well,” Judge Allison said.

Judge Allison referenced Glass’s extensive drug use, which he said likely exacerbated his mental disorders. He prohibited the use of alcohol and drugs, including marijuana, when he is released from the state hospital.

“It’s my opinion drugs played a role in Mr. Glass’s behavior,” Judge Allison said. “A lot of people who have a mental health condition use drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.”

Prior to sentencing, Ahner, the Flathead County Attorney, described Glass’s drug use as a root cause of the tragedy that began when he first tried marijuana at age 11. His drug use continued to escalate and he began using synthetic marijuana, known as “spice,” at age 15, which triggered his first psychotic episode, followed by methamphetamine use by age 16.

“In this case, it caused real damage to Mr. Glass, and it led to the death of Lukas Davis,” Ahner said.

Davis’s mother provided a victim impact statement to the court, expressing her frustration with the defendant’s lack of accountability and blaming those close to him for not taking his condition seriously. While she described Glass as detached and unremorseful, she hoped he would receive treatment during his sentence to help him one day safely reenter society.

“It took you murdering someone for anyone to pay attention,” Jodie Davis said.

According to charging documents, Glass was arrested on Sept. 21, 2022, after his sister reported that he stabbed her boyfriend following a verbal argument in her bedroom. When Davis exited the room, Glass was standing in the hallway and stabbed him.

Glass’s sister then locked him out of the house until a Columbia Falls Police Department officer arrived to find Glass standing in the yard with a knife in his hand. After he was ordered to drop the knife, he was handcuffed. He later told detectives during an interview that the stabbing “was an accident,” records state.

Authorities found Davis with a knife wound to his abdomen, according to documents. He was transported to Logan Health, where he was pronounced dead.

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