Lindsay Haugen

Background

Lindsay April Haugen was an Army veteran. At the time of the killing, she was a sergeant with the National Guard.

Haugen said she strangled Robert Glenn Mast because he told her he wanted to die and she had wanted to try killing someone with her “bare hands”. Haugen also described Mast as “in a relationship with drugs and alcohol,” and said his teeth were rotted and his liver was ruined because of his alcohol abuse. She said, “We were probably only sober together for four days,” and explained that it was because “we didn’t have money at the time to buy more alcohol.”

Haugen and Mast began dating in August, and they were traveling from Washington state to North Dakota. The pair stopped to eat pizza and drink wine in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Haugen later described herself as the victim’s girlfriend.

The offence

On Sept. 15, Haugen strangled Robert Glenn Mast to death inside a car in the parking lot of the Heights Wal-Mart. Court documents said Haugen killed Mast by putting her arm around his neck to choke him before holding his mouth and nose shut for as long as 20 minutes.

Haugen told police Mast asked her to kill him. She said that when he replied that he was serious, she climbed into the back seat and put her arm around Mast’s neck to choke him, and then held his mouth and nose shut for at least 20 minutes. She later left the Wal-Mart parking lot.

After leaving, Haugen drove to the parking lot of a nearby pizza restaurant and attempted to revive Mast, where officers found her. During the time before officers arrived, Haugen said she had been attempting CPR on an unresponsive Mast. She told officers she was attempting CPR in her car for 30 minutes, and that Mast was pronounced dead at the scene.

At her arrest, Haugen told officers she’d always wanted to try killing someone with her “bare hands” and saw Mast’s request as an opportunity to do so. Haugen said Mast had asked her to kill him more than once, and she told the court she had felt like Mast was the love of her life after knowing him only 28 days. She said that was why she “chose to take his life,” and she told the victim’s family: “I’m so sorry. I think about it every day,” and, “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did it. He was such a beautiful soul.”

In her sentencing hearing testimony, Haugen also acknowledged that she knew it was wrong to strangle Mast to death. She said: “I feel like I deserve whatever I get,” and, “Because I can’t bring Robbie back.”

During the proceedings, Haugen did not dispute strangling Mast, and no one disputed Haugen’s documented past trauma.

Investigation

Billings police discovered a dead man in the passenger seat of Haugen’s SUV. Haugen waived her Miranda rights and told officers she had killed Mast because he’d asked her to.

Court documents said officers arrived at about 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Heights Domino’s parking lot on Main Street and found Haugen frantic and crying. Haugen told officers she had been attempting CPR on an unresponsive Mast in her car for 30 minutes.

A court account said Haugen told police that Mast told her he wanted to die, and she said she’d help him if he was serious. Charging documents said Haugen provided a detailed description of the process of Mast’s death to officers, including that at one point he began to foam at the mouth.

A deputy coroner said Mast was a transient whose family lives in South Florida, and the cause of death had not yet been released at that time. An autopsy was scheduled.

Prosecutors later probed Haugen about a conversation she overheard where Mast said he was only using her for a ride to Minnesota where he would meet a woman named Kate for a job. Haugen said: “I don’t remember those exact words.” When the prosecutor reminded Haugen that Kate was an ex-girlfriend and asked if that made her angry, Haugen answered: “More sad than anything.”

Arrest

On Sept. 15, witnesses reported Haugen was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe erratically and that she was pulled over about 45 minutes later on Main Street near the intersection with Milton Road. The vehicle had Washington license plates but was not registered to Haugen or the deceased man.

Haugen was detained in Yellowstone County Detention Facility on suspicion of deliberate homicide based on interviews with investigators after her arrest.

Justice of the Peace David Carter set Haugen’s bond at $400,000 and ordered her to submit to GPS monitoring if she posted bond. Penelope Strong argued for a bond of $200,000 and said Haugen was a former military member who was honorably discharged. The state requested bond in the amount of $500,000, and Carter set the bond at $400,000.

Trial

Plea and guilty plea

Haugen initially denied the charge and entered a not guilty plea for deliberate homicide.

On March 7, 2016, Haugen appeared before District Judge Gregory Todd and pleaded guilty to the strangling death of Robert Glenn Mast. She previously denied the charge and entered her guilty plea as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors recommended a 65-year sentence to the Montana Women’s Prison in exchange for her admission.

Haugen wore a blue Yellowstone County Detention Facility jumpsuit and had her arms and legs shackled. She spoke only when addressed by Todd or her attorney, responding with a “yes” or “no” to questions.

Sentencing

A sentencing date was set at a later time, and sentencing occurred on June 22, 2016.

During the sentencing hearing on June 22, 2016, Haugen said the prosecution’s recommended prison sentence of 65 years was “overwhelming” but that she deserved it. She said she deserved whatever she would get because she couldn’t bring Robbie back.

Yellowstone County District Judge Gregory Todd ordered Haugen to serve 60 years with the Montana State Women’s Prison for the death of Robert Mast.

Yellowstone County Attorney’s Chief of Criminal Operations Christopher Morris and Senior Deputy County Attorney Julie Patten said the 65-year sentence they recommended took into consideration all mitigating factors of Haugen’s life.

During the hearing, Robert Mast’s step-mother, Mindy Pendleton, testified. Pendleton described Mast as a “traveler” who had spent his life working seasonal jobs and going state-to-state while indulging in adventures. She said he was different from the rest of the family, but a good man. Pendleton said: “His life mattered. It mattered. It mattered to all of us,” and, “He was loved, and he loved well.”

Pendleton testified that Mast had a girlfriend he planned to return to in Minnesota. She said he did not love Haugen but trusted her, and that was what killed him. Pendleton said Mast was from Florida and would return to his family during the holidays, in part for the climate. She said: “He was not a transient whose life didn’t have meaning,” and, “It did. If this proceeding were held in Flordia, this courtroom would be filled with those who loved him.”

Pendleton told the court: “He was loved,” and said: “Robbie and his life” would be represented by her and her family. She said: “We will fight to have you stay incarcerated,” and promised to attend every one of Haugen’s future parole hearings. Pendleton said Haugen robbed Mast’s family of him and said she would never again hear her son say he loved her, and that his brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews would never again hear the stories that used to bring them joy. For that, Pendleton said she and her family wanted Haugen to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Haugen apologized to Pendleton during her testimony.

Public Defender Gregory Paskell argued that Haugen did not act “in a vacuum” and that she was predisposed to be submissive to Mast’s request to kill him because of abuse men had subjected her to. Paskell argued that Haugen was a battered woman and acted under the influence of a history of abuse. He asked for a sentence of 65 years with 25 suspended.

Lisa Matovich-Brooke, a licensed clinical professional counselor, testified about Haugen’s mental health. Matovich-Brooke said Haugen grew up with an abusive father, was beaten by a group of “skin heads” when she was a young woman, and had nearly died when her ex-fiance threw her against a bathtub and strangled her until she passed out. Matovich-Brooke said the ex-fiance raped her, broke her hand, broke her nose, and when she tried to leave, threw her keys onto a roof.

Matovich-Brooke said Haugen testified that when she was with her fiance he wouldn’t let her walk into their home, that she had to crawl over the threshold, and that she was only allowed to speak to him on her knees.

Matovich-Brooke said that when Haugen reported the abuse to her commanding officer, her commander kept Haugen in the barracks for her protection. Matovich-Brooke said even then Haugen tried to stay in contact with the man who had beaten her.

Matovich-Brooke said Haugen served in the military for 10 years, volunteering to fight in Kuwait as a gunner on a Black Hawk helicopter. Matovich-Brooke said: “Battered women will do anything to prove how much they love the men they are with,” and also said: “She said it was like she was floating above the car and didn’t feel like she was really committing the crime,” about Haugen’s description of killing Mast.

Matovich-Brooke said the disassociation Haugen displayed in the attack is consistent with PTSD and battered woman syndrome. Matovich-Brooke said: “Haugen did what she did to prove how much she loved Mast.”

Todd said he did not see a connection between Haugen’s past abuse and what she did to Mast, and he said “niceness” triggering violence did not make sense. Todd said: “Haugen strangles him and plugs his nose and mouth for 20 minutes,” and said, “Mast fights the strangulation and foams at the mouth.” Todd said Haugen drove eight blocks away before attempting to get help. Todd said: “Everything I have here points to Robbie Mast as not an abuser, not someone that would trigger a fatal reaction,” and also described the attack in those terms.

The sentencing also included discussion of Montenegro, and Montana guidelines. In Montana, deliberate homicide typically carried a sentence of up to 100 years in prison.

Christopher Morris and Julie Patten said prosecutors were taking mitigating factors into consideration in recommending 65 years. Morris said it was offensive that Paskell would put any blame on the victim, and said: “He was an innocent, kind soul and she took that away.”

Todd called Haugen an “intelligent person with a horrendous background of abuse.” Todd also said Haugen’s crime did not happen “in a vacuum.”

Other details

Haugen said she had a technology degree.

Haugen told the court she requested 25 to 30 years of her sentence to be suspended so she could try to be a productive member of society again after she had served a good portion of her sentence.

Haugen said she apologized to Pendleton and described Mast as the love of her life.

At one point, Haugen testified about an abusive history in relationships, including that her husband was involved with the Skin Heads, and that they attacked her, kidnapped her for four days, and beat her. Matovich-Brooke also testified that Haugen had a second husband who was also very abusive and had held her at gun point once, and that Haugen’s last boyfriend was abusive as well, including repeatedly hitting her, pushing her up against a wall, and telling her how terrible she was.

Matovich-Brooke compared battered women to combat veterans and said: “they never know when they're going to be hit again, they always on the defensive.”

During testimony about Haugen’s military involvement, Matovich-Brooke said: “they voluntarily went to Kuwait where the parole said they couldn't function without her,” and that Haugen performed quite well, and said: “It might be like Stockholm syndrome. They often feel that this is what all men do in a relationship.”

Haugen testified that she felt she was excelling at work but said the abuse “infiltrated” her work and said she believed leaving would be abandoning them when they most needed her. Haugen also said, “I've felt for a long time that I'm just not meant to be happy in a relationship,” and said: “I did everything I could to make it work to the point where I couldn't even walk in the house with Brandon. He made me crawl in on my knees.”