Halloween assault brings probation

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, March 26, 2011

An Austin woman who fractured another woman’s nose by punching her in the face after a Halloween party last October has been sentenced to two years of probation.

Melissa Jo Marks, 28, was convicted of third-degree assault Thursday in Mower County Court. One year of her probation will be supervised — the other year will be unsupervised, according to court records.

The incident took place early in the morning Nov. 1. Court documents report that Marks was at a house with some friends after a Halloween celebration when she and another woman got into an argument and Marks began attacking her.

Email newsletter signup

Witnesses said Marks was on top of the woman punching and scratching her in the face. One of the friends said Marks was the “aggressive one,” while the other woman was trying to “defend herself.”

When officers arrived at the residence, Marks told them “everything was being blown out of proportion” and that the other woman had pulled her hair. The officers observed that Marks’ hair was in disarray, but she was uninjured.

The other woman was taken to Austin Medical Center. She suffered a fractured nose.

Marks could face up to 180 days in jail if she violates her probation.