Plea bargain for Peterson

An agreement in the case against a man accused of cracking his wife’s skull with a baseball bat while she lay sleeping at home resulted in the man pleading guilty to aggravated assault Monday.

Joshua Junior Peterson, 36, beat his wife, Tracee Peterson, with a bat in the couple’s home in Troy in late September. Joshua Peterson was initially charged with three felony counts of attempted deliberate homicide, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. Had he been convicted of the attempted deliberate homicide charge, Joshua Peterson faced a potential life sentence.

The agreement recommends a 25-year sentence with 18 years in prison and seven years suspended. District Judge James Wheelis may sentence Joshua Peterson to as many as 30 years during a sentencing hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 19.

Lincoln County Attorney Bernie Cassidy said he was satisfied with the agreement.

“We consulted with (Tracee Peterson) in the plea negotiations, and she expressed that she was more interested in it being settled than going to trial,” Cassidy said. “This is a case where some people feel the death penalty would be the only justice, but that was never in play here.”

Cassidy said he has tried two similar cases, and both times the homicide charge resulted in acquittal.

“I wanted to do a plea agreement for two reasons,” Tracee Peterson said. “One, I know it’s done and I didn’t want it to take months to get where we are now. Two, the kids have been through enough and I did not want them to have to take the stand.”

While Peterson said she very much looks forward to sentencing, she is sure of Joshua Peterson’s intentions.

“I have no doubt in my mind he hit a sleeping woman and left thinking she was not going to live,” Tracee Peterson said. “But I guess him calling people after driving away as I was bleeding makes a difference.”

Joshua Peterson called several people moments after the assault, including Trish and Ed Hanson, Tracee Peterson’s parents who were sleeping at their house around the corner from where their daughter was nearly killed.

Trish Hanson said she would never forget the words Joshua Peterson said.

“When I picked up, he said, ‘I just beat Tracee with a baseball bat. She was still alive when I left. Take care of my kids,’” Trish Hanson said.

It is an understatement to say Tracee Peterson has come a long way in the months following the incident. Initial prognoses gave her a two percent chance at survival — quality of life was hardly a consideration. Things turned six days after the attack when Tracee Peterson stunned doctors and responded to verbal commands only hours after 125 people attended a prayer vigil in front of the Peterson home.

Tracee Peterson returned to Troy in mid-November. She takes her kids to school, works a few hours a week at Main Street Perk and aims for normalcy. She is deaf in her left ear and continues to struggle with the vision in her right eye. More than anything, the fear continues to rattle her life.

 “I had not been afraid for a long time,” Tracee Peterson said. “I am going to sleep a lot better knowing he is in jail.”