Great Falls teen charged with attempted murder and assault

Jake Kraus was attacked by three people while walking home in downtown Great Falls on the night of September 8, 2024. The brutal attack left him hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury and in a medically induced coma for days. Three teenagers were charged with assault, one of them appeared in court on Thursday, October 17, 2024:

Suspect in brutal Great Falls assault enters plea

Ethanel Philip Pherigo, 19, was charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of robbery because surveillance video of the attack allegedly shows Pherigo searching the victim’s pockets.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment hearing earlier this month and his trial date is set for January 27, 2025.

Shaun Anthony Deberry, also 19, appeared in court for arraignment on Thursday, Oct. 17. He is charged with one count of grievous bodily harm and, if convicted, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years. Deberry pleaded not guilty and the trial date is set for February 10, 2025.

The third suspect, 14-year-old Jesse James Edwards Jr., was charged as an adult with one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault.

He was originally charged only with aggravated assault, but court documents dated Sept. 18 included a charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter.

Surveillance video of the attack allegedly shows Edwards repeatedly stomping on the victim’s head.

He is the only suspect charged with attempted first-degree murder and remains in custody on a $250,000 bond.

On October 8, 2024, Jake Kraus was transferred from Benefis Hospital in Great Falls to Craig Hospital in Colorado to continue his recovery. It is a neurorehabilitation and research hospital specializing in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

(OCTOBER 2, 2024) In the video below, Tom Wylie speaks with Chrissy Kraus, whose husband Jake continues to recover after a brutal and seemingly unprovoked attack in Great Falls.

Great Falls attack victim continues to recover

It’s been three weeks since Jake was hospitalized due to the attack, and while his recovery still has a long way to go, the progress he’s made so far has been nothing short of miraculous.

Chrissy shared the snaps of Jake’s recovery on social media; She explained: “I try to leave a public album on my Facebook page to keep the community updated because I know a lot of people are interested in us.”

They’ve celebrated the small victories – but it’s still hard to process how much their lives have changed after a senseless act of violence that fateful night.

Jake’s frontal lobe was damaged in the attack, causing problems with behavior, emotions and executive functions.

Chrissy said: “When you have a husband who is supposed to graduate in May with his co-worker and become a union welder for pipefitters, and now you have… a husband who can’t even care for his own child or doesn’t anything.”

Although Jake has made progress, his long-term prognosis is discouraging.

Kraus is considering a transfer to Craig Hospital in Denver, which specializes in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

Chrissy said: “The prognosis at this point and for the foreseeable future is that it is a lifelong disability. The extent of the recovery is currently unknown. When it comes to brain injuries, no one knows that. However, even after his release from Craig (rehab facility in Colorado) and for the foreseeable future, he will require 24-hour care at this point. And with the diagnosis, the physical injury, great damage occurs that cannot be repaired. We can just…time will tell us and hope for the best.”

Kraus family

She continued, “He’ll be there for about three months, if not a little longer.” And I have to fly back and forth from there to here twice a month to do my shifts to make sure I maintain our insurance and ours paying bills, and everyday things that just don’t stop just because something tragic happens. And the medical bills are piling up. Even though I have insurance, the insurance only pays a limited amount. There are many, many things that you don’t think about that you need when something like this happens, in addition to the everyday things.”

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

That’s why friends of the Kraus family have organized a fundraiser to ease some of the financial burden so that Jake and Chrissy can focus solely on recovery.

The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, November 9th from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Black Eagle Community Center and will include a 50/50 auction, silent auction and raffle. For more information or to donate items, call Chrissy at 406-406-564-9002 or Destany at 406-468-5020.

“I am very grateful. And I am very grateful to them. The prayers work. I have no words for what I could say.

There is also GoFundMe where people can donate – click here if you would like to help.

What would Jake say to the outpouring of support?

“He would probably rub his hands together because that’s what he does when he’s excited and try to hug everyone,” Chrissy said.

Benefit dinner

Benefit dinner for Jake Kraus