A Baker City man accused of murdering his wife by shooting her

Thursday at the couple’s home was convicted of assaulting her in March.

According to Baker County Circuit Court records, Kevin Michael

Blankenship, 41, of 3500 Auburn Ave., was sentenced to 18 months’

probation and ordered to enroll in a domestic violence intervention

program for assaulting Christina Dawn Blankenship, 38, on March 16,

2010.

According to a police report, Kevin Blankenship punched Christina

Blankenship in the face, giving her a bloody nose. That incident also

happened at the couple’s home.

A grand jury indicted Kevin Blankenship on one count of murder

Friday, District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said today. Blankenship was

arraigned on the charge Friday in Circuit Court. He is being held at

the jail on $1 million full bail (which means Blankenship can’t be

released by posting 10 percent bail, as is customary), Shirtcliff said.

The next court action will be a hearing in the judge’s chambers at 8:15 a.m. Sept. 13, Shirtcliff said.

That hearing is designed to “make sure he has an attorney and that things are moving forward,” Shirtcliff said. Blankenship is scheduled to enter a plea at 2 p.m. Sept. 29. That hearing will take place in the courtroom.

Among the terms of Blankenship’s probation, imposed as a result of the March assault, are that he have no contact with his wife.

Two years earlier, on April 22, 2008, Christina Blankenship was granted a restraining order to prevent Kevin Blankenship from abusing her.

In her petition to the court seeking the restraining order, Christina Blankenship recounted an incident at their home in which she said her husband “pointed a .22 rifle at me and himself and said he would kill us both in front of our 6- and 7-year-old daughters.”

Christina wrote in her petition that that particular incident began with a discussion about Kevin Blankenship’s job situation.

“He hasn’t worked since November 2007 and it has put a major burden on me,” she said. “We ended the conversation with a nasty argument.”

Christina stated that on that occasion her husband had been drinking all day.

“Kevin is an abusive drinker,” she stated in the petition. “He threatens me. He has physically hurt me.”

The restraining order required Blankenship to have no contact with his wife and two daughters and not to buy or possess any firearms or ammunition.

Christina continued in her petition that “I always try to stay away from him when I know there’s gonna be an argument and he follows me from room to room or wherever I’m at.

“He has told me if he can’t have me no one will. I’ve had to stay the night with my relatives just to get away from his anger. He has offended my 19-year-old son also.”

Kevin Blankenship was jailed on a charge of violating the restraining order 30 minutes after it was issued, according to court records.

He said he was returning to his home to pick up his cell phone charger and did not recall being ordered to stay away from the house, according to the court record.

Prosecution was deferred and the charge of violating his restraining order later was dismissed after he complied with the court order, the records stated.

Christina Blankenship filed a motion to dismiss the restraining order a month later. The motion was granted on May 20, 2008.

Christina’s aunt, Carol Free of Baker City, said the cycle of abuse dates back years.

About a year ago she took Christy, as her niece was known to her family, to MayDay to seek help.

“While we were there, Kevin was pacing outside,” Free said. “It didn’t matter where she was, he would find her.”

Free said Blankenship was always possessive over his wife.

“He had to physically touch her 24-7,” she said.

The cycle, though, never ended even when Christy escaped to family.

“She was so mentally beaten down. She defended him on a daily basis. She was black and blue every day,” Free said. “She told the family but not anyone else. She was embarrassed.”

Lisa Britton of the Baker City Herald contributed to this story.