Spokane tribal member sentenced to 6 years in prison for attacking partner with knife

A federal judge in Spokane sentenced a man to nearly six years in prison for attacking his partner with a knife last year and attempting to suffocate her.

Marvin Butterfly, 40, claimed innocence Thursday afternoon at his sentencing, even after a jury found him guilty in May.

In September 2023, Butterfly’s partner let another woman stay at her home in Ford to get out of the cold, which angered him. Butterfly, an enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe, grabbed a knife, started stabbing the floor and held it to the woman’s throat.

“This is how you kill someone,” he is accused of saying, according to court records. Butterfly then pushed the woman down on the couch and attempted to suffocate her. After his arrest, he also phoned the victim from jail and told her not to testify against him.

Butterfly said during the sentencing hearing he hopes to seek medical treatment for an alcohol and seizure problem.

“I don’t want to die in jail,” he said. He issued no apology to the victim.

Butterfly was sentenced in 2006 for stabbing his friend three times over a dice game, court records show.