A North Dakota man will serve the rest of his life in prison for the beating death of his wife, whom he initially claimed face-planted on the stairs.
Spencer Moen, 32, received his sentencing on Monday for the murder of Sonja Moen, 30. He was convicted in October.
“I just can’t seem to move out of that space. You beat the life out of my daughter. “And to make matters worse, you did it in front of the kids,” the victim’s mother, Kristin Scofield, said in court. “I will continue to pray for forgiveness, but it is not currently present in my soul. “I am sorry.”
Spencer Moen apologized to the family.
“I’d like everyone to understand my remorse, pain, and sorrow; I never intended for this to happen,” Spencer Moen said Monday. “She was everything for me. I feel lost without her. I would change my decision if I could. I sincerely apologize and promise to be a better man.
According to the affidavit for probable cause obtained by Law & Crime, the case began on August 10, 2023, when Spencer Moen called 911. Sonja Moen was found lying in a bathtub, not breathing or responding. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spencer Moen told cops that his wife had slept in the bathtub the night before and was now unresponsive.
“He said she had slept there because she had said she was going to take a bath or a shower,” according to the paperwork. “He also said she had vomited last night as well.”
Officers observed visible injuries on the victim, including what appeared to be defensive wounds.
“Sonja had significant bruising on the left side of her face and forehead,” according to the police. “Both of her eyes appeared to be swollen shut, and there was dried blood on the right corner of her mouth. Sonja had bruises on the backs of her hands that appeared to be defensive wounds.
Sonja Moen’s mother arrived less than a minute after the first responding officer, according to police.
Police asked Sonja Moen’s mother and Spencer Moen to exit the bathroom where her body was found and enter the adjoining bedroom.
“After exiting the bathroom, [the mother] looked at Spencer and said ‘get the f— out of my house,'” according to law enforcement. “While in the bedroom, officers noticed bruising on Spencer’s right hand in the knuckle area.”
Cops also reported finding blood on the master bedroom floor. According to police, blood drops were found on the left side of the bed, on the floor, and at the foot of the bed as it approached the bathroom.
Officers said they discovered Spencer Moen had been golfing the day before, on August 9. Sonja Moen came to pick him up after dark.
Spencer Moen told police that on their way home, they stopped at a Holiday Convenience Store to buy sandwiches and cigarettes.
“According to witness statements, Sonja and Spencer would have arrived home sometime around 10 PM (CST),” the cops said.
Spencer Moen took the children to day care on August 10 between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., about two hours earlier than he usually did. The mother told police that the normal time was 9 a.m.
Officers detained Spencer Moen and took him to the police station for an interview. He claimed that he and his wife had been intoxicated when they arrived home.
“When asked about the injuries to Sonja’s face, Spencer explained that when they arrived home from Mapleton, Sonja had tripped coming up the steps from the garage into the house and ‘face planted,'” according to the police.
Spencer Moen told officers he put their children to bed. After that, he returned downstairs to Sonja Moen and continued to argue with her while smoking in the garage. He claimed that his wife smacked him in the back of the head.
Spencer Moen claimed that his wife jumped on him while he was in bed. She punched him, and they rolled off the side of the bed. He pushed her away by the throat, but she continued to attack, he claimed.
Spencer Moen claimed he punched her in the face three or four times.
Sonja Moen said, “F— you, I’m taking a shower,” according to this account.
According to the affidavit, police found no marks on Spencer Moen indicating that his wife punched him.
According to this account, Sonja Moen entered the bathroom, but Spencer Moen reported hearing no running water from the bathtub. The defendant claimed he went downstairs for 15 minutes to smoke after hearing a commotion in the bathtub but did not investigate.
“Spencer was asked if it would be fair to say that Sonja had fallen in the tub due to the head trauma, associated to the intentional punches,” according to the officers. “Spencer stated, ‘Sure.'”
Spencer Moen stated that when he returned, he found his wife alive in the bathtub, making noise but not talking.
“Spencer states he dumped water over her head to get her attention, so she would return to the bedroom to go to sleep,” according to the police. “Sonja didn’t give him a response and remained in the tub.”
Spencer Moen stated that he returned to bed and slept. When he woke up, he discovered Sonja Moen in the bathtub and attempted to wake her up. She was cool to the touch. He then took the children to daycare.
Spencer Moen claimed he returned home and attempted to wake her up again. When she did not respond, he called her mother to inform her that Sonja Moen was not awake and did not appear to be breathing. He then dialed 911.
Police said they also spoke with the children.
“According to one of the children, they were present when Spencer and Sonja were wrestling and observed Sonja’s blood on Spencer’s face,” the police report states. “It should also be noted, officers were also able to recover Sonja and Spencer’s Apple iPhones.”
According to police, Sonja Moen’s eldest daughter called her on the night of August 9. However, Spencer Moen picked up at 10:41 p.m.
“She explained Spencer’s voice sounded irritated and he told her to go to bed because it was late,” the police claimed. “Spencer’s daughter advised she heard Sonja in the background snoring.”
Spencer Moen denied that this conversation occurred.
Police said they discovered a video on the defendant’s phone of Sonja Moen lying in the bathtub. It was timestamped on August 9 at 11:37 p.m.
“The video shows Sonja lying in the opposite direction from where she was found by responding patrol officers,” investigators said. “It appears Sonja was having extreme difficulty breathing and sleeping in an abnormal position. Sonja was also making snoring sounds, as described by Moen’s oldest child.
Based on my training and experience, Sonja’s sound appears to be consistent with agonal breathing [labored breathing associated with agony or death].”
Police determined that the husband filmed the video after calling out her name, but he did nothing to assist her while filming. Sonja Moen died of blunt force trauma to the head after suffering a subdural hematoma, according to the autopsy. She also sustained a fractured rib.
