Oberling pleads guilty in electrocution case

Locally renowned landscape painter Nicholas Oberling pleaded guilty to criminal endangerment Monday, testifying that he ran a live wire into his significant other’s shower last summer in the hopes of ending their relationship.

Authorities arrested Oberling, 59, in July after his then partner reported receiving shocks upon reaching for soap while taking a shower. Finding a stripped wire running into the soap dish, she confronted Oberling, who allegedly admitted to her that he was behind the contraption.

Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office examined the shower in a building near U.S. 2 in Hungry Horse soon after. They followed the wire through a hole cut into the drywall, court documents said. On the other side, the stripped wires were wrapped around another set of exposed wires that were then plugged into a nearby outlet, according to court documents.

Oberling has remained in custody at the county jail with bail set at $50,000 since his July 24 arrest. The artist, known for his work in Glacier National Park, signed a plea deal with prosecutors on Nov. 22, according to court room testimony.

Under questioning from defense attorney Sean Hinchey in Flathead County District Court on Nov. 28, Oberling — still in inmate orange and occasionally cheery — admitted to putting his significant other at risk of serious injury. Asked whether the setup was intended to scare his then partner, Oberling replied: “Absolutely.”

While prosecutors offered no questions for Oberling, Judge Robert Allison had a few, including asking for more details behind the artist’s thinking as he wired the soap dish. Oberling said he hoped to scare her into ending their relationship, saying he was in a “very distressed state of mind” while acknowledging the criminality of his actions.

“If you’re going to break up with someone, there are better ways to do it,” Allison said.

Oberling described the relationship as abusive and said he lacked the ability to end it. He described wiring the soap dish as “an act of desperation” reiterating that he was “not proud of it, but I did do it.”

Allison noted that the victim would have an opportunity to address the court at his sentencing. She might take a different view of the circumstances, the judge said.

Allison set sentencing for Jan. 25 after finding Oberling guilty of criminal endangerment. The details of Oberling’s plea agreement were not immediately available. Criminal endangerment is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine.