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Jul 12, 2007 10:53 am US/Central
Rep. Olson's Wife Says She Feared For Her Life
Elk River, Minn. (AP) ―
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On the Sunday that Mark Olson allegedly assaulted his wife, Heidi Olson testified that she confronted her husband over his treatment of her 12-year-old autistic son for not playing fairly during a Monopoly game. (File)
Courtesy Sherburne County Sheriff's Dept.
The wife of a state legislator on trial for assaulting her in November testified that their marriage was stormy and violent, and that she feared for her own life as well as his on the day of the alleged assault.
Heidi Olson was the first witness Wednesday in the trial of Rep. Mark Olson, a Republican from Big Lake, after opening arguments in Sherburne County District Court. Mark Olson faces two misdemeanor domestic assault counts, which allege that he pushed his wife down three times behind their home on Nov. 12.
Heidi Olson contradicted defense claims that Mark Olson, not she, was the battered spouse.
On the Sunday that Mark Olson allegedly assaulted his wife, Heidi Olson testified that she confronted her husband over his treatment of her 12-year-old autistic son for not playing fairly during a Monopoly game. Heidi Olson had five children with her first husband, who later died.
Mark Olson was working on an addition to their garage when his wife confronted him. She testified that he told her she'd ruined his life and he had nothing to lose, then pushed her down the first time.
"I was afraid of being killed," Heidi Olson said.
After he pushed her down twice more, she said he told her: "Why don't you come over here and I will finish the job. I was thinking homicide-suicide," she testified.
Mark Olson's attorney, Jill Clark, said earlier in court that she would argue that it was Mark Olson, not Heidi, who was the abused spouse, and that she had hit him several times in two years.
Heidi Olson testified that their four-year marriage had been difficult, that they often fought about child discipline and had sought marital counseling three times.
Heidi Olson, who is 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, admitted during her testimony that she did once hit Mark Olson, who is 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, in the chest. She said she felt so bad that she attended anger management and domestic assault classes.
She also said she once got so mad at her husband that she used his filet knife to stab his dresser in their bedroom.
But she also testified that Mark Olson physically assaulted her three times before the November incident, once bruising her arms by repeatedly throwing two Bibles at her in a rage. The jury was shown pictures of bruising on her arm.
Heidi Olson never reported the alleged assaults, but told her sisters, one of whom called police after the November incident.
Of that incident, Mark Olson has claimed that he put his hands on his wife's shoulders and guided her to the ground, rather than pushing her. Defense attorney Clark has indicated Mark Olson will testify that he did so in self-defense fearing his wife might harm him.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
