MOORHEAD (KFGO-AM) -- A Moorhead man charged with the attempted murder of his girlfriend last April has been sentenced in Clay County Court to more than 17 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Michael Karau repeatedly beat the woman with a baseball bat and tried to drown her in a bathtub.
Assistant Clay County Attorney Pam Harris says the attack lasted several hours. Harris says the victim suffered a broken nose, broken tailbone, partially torn off ear and other injuries. "I have never seen anybody in my 15 years here beaten so badly" Harris said. "I've seen dead bodies that didn't look as bad as this victim did."
Assistant public defender Ken Kludt said the sentence "was on the harsh end of the guidelines" but Kludt said he's not surprised with the sentence.
Judge Galen Vaa says the case is worst domestic assault he's ever seen.