On Wednesday — more than two months after Katherine Lanegan shot and killed her boyfriend Ordean Engebretson in his Whitefish home — Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan announced Lanegan will not face charges.

“We lack any physical evidence or eyewitness testimony rebutting Lanegan’s claim that she was violently assaulted by Engebretson,” Corrigan wrote in a letter to Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial.

“Given her description of those assaults, we also lack the evidence necessary to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her fear Engebretson was going to kill her was not a reasonable fear. In short, we lack the evidence necessary to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her actions that night were not justified.”

Lanegan initially was arrested and incarcerated Feb. 2, the night of the shooting, but was released the following day.

According to the sequence of events laid out in the letter, Lanegan, 37, and Engebretson, 42, had been enjoying a night of drinking during the Whitefish Winter Carnival and were both drunk when they returned to Engebretson’s home.

He then assaulted Lanegan on the porch and again when she entered the home to retrieve her keys, first throwing her against a pile of firewood and then to the floor inside the residence.

“According to Lanegan, he repeatedly choked her, perhaps to the point of unconsciousness, and banged her head on the residence floor; he also made unsuccessful attempts to grab the knife she was wearing on her belt,” Corrigan wrote.

The narrative also states Engebretson told Lanegan she would be dead before the police could get there if she called 911. It was then that Lanegan took her 9-millimeter handgun from her bag and shot Engebretson multiple times, fearing he would assault her a third time.

After killing Engebretson, Lanegan ran next door, telling her neighbors that she had shot him because he was trying to kill her and hysterically asked them to call 911.

When officers arrived, however, there were some inherent challenges at the crime scene.

“Because the interior of Engebretson’s residence was in such disarray, the only physical evidence recovered from that location was evidence of the shooting,” Corrigan wrote. “There was, however, physical evidence recovered from the porch, such as [Lanegan’s] dislodged jewelry, supporting Lanegan’s claim that she was assaulted at that location.”

There was also some question during the investigation whether Lanegan’s injuries were consistent with her story.

In seeking an effective comparison between Lanegan’s description of the assaults and photographs of her injuries, an opinion was requested from Montana Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Gary Dale.

“As stated to me over the phone, he could not refute her claim of being assaulted and choked and would likely corroborate her story if called to testify at trial,” Corrigan wrote.

Some time after the shooting, a friend of Engebretson’s came forward and argued Engebretson would “never hurt a woman.” Corrigan indicated one former girlfriend also said they had no problems during their relationship and continues to consider him a friend.

“However, three women involved in previous relationships with Engebretson have come forward with statements to the contrary,” Corrigan wrote.

The first former girlfriend said Engebretson once head-butted her in the face and twisted her arm behind her back after an evening of drinking, and that he had threatened her children and grandchildren.

She told investigators his attitude would “definitely change” when he had been drinking.

Another former girlfriend said their relationship was short because Engebretson drank heavily and would get angry and accuse her of cheating on him when he was drunk. She said he stalked her after they broke up by showing up at her home and looking through her windows, also leaving notes on her vehicle.

“When returning his personal property to his residence, Engebretson, who was drunk, confronted her, told her she was not going to leave, threatened to handcuff her to his bed, and told her she would never see her children again,” Corrigan wrote. “She subsequently felt it necessary to obtain a restraining order against Engebretson.”

A third former girlfriend also sought a restraining order after sustaining back and shoulder injuries after repeatedly throwing her against a vehicle and previously choking her “with sufficient force to leave extensive bruising on her throat.”

“The foregoing violent and threatening behavior certainly corroborates Lanegan’s claim that she was assaulted by Engebretson and in fear of her life,” Corrigan wrote. “Were we to proceed to trial, evidence of that behavior would be admissible to effectively rebut any effort to portray Engebretson as an individual who would ‘never hurt a woman.’”

Engebretson’s apparent problem with alcohol also is highlighted by his four convictions for drunk driving, which came in April 2006, December 2006, January 2009 and October 2010.

The most recent case originally was charged as felony drunk driving along with a misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license, but it was later amended to a single charge of misdemeanor drunk driving.

For the 2010 drunk driving conviction, Engebretson was given a one-year suspended sentence.

Six months prior to that conviction, Engebretson was convicted of misdemeanor issuing bad checks after writing more than $825 in checks from an account either closed or not having sufficient funds. He was given a six-month suspended sentence in that case, which was also reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Despite the challenges in the investigation posed by the small amount of physical evidence, Corrigan thanked the Whitefish Police Department on Wednesday for their work.

“They did a very thorough investigation,” Corrigan said.

Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial likewise praised Corrigan’s involvement, saying his officers contacted Corrigan around midnight on the night of the shooting and Corrigan was involved throughout the investigation.

“This was not a decision made exclusively by Ed,” Dial said. “We worked together, looked at it in its totality and made the decision together.”

He also noted that Lanegan was very cooperative throughout the investigation.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.