Man Beaten with Crowbar Dies; Murder Charges Expected

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MILFORD, MI - A Milford man allegedly beaten last month with a crowbar by his wife, who told investigators she wanted to end his suffering, has died.

Police said Gregory Alan Cortis, 68, died Saturday, Hometownlife.com reports. He had been hospitalized since the Nov. 30 attack.

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His wife, Yvonne Helen Cortis, 58, will now face murder charges, Milford Police Chief Tom Lindberg said a news release. She was ordered held in the Oakland County Jail on $1 million bond after her Dec. 2 arraignment on attempted murder and animal torture charges.

Yvonne Cortis also allegedly beat the couple’s 11-year-old Labrador, Carly. The dog sustained significant injuries, but continues to recover at Veterinary Care Specialists in Milford. A second family dog, an 18-month-old English pointer, was adopted by a Highland Township woman who also hopes to adopt Carly, the newspaper said.

Police responded to the Cortis home in the 1300 block of Nortoon after Yvonne Cortis made a 911 call the evening of Nov. 30. They found Gregory Cortis inside suffering from blunt force trauma to his and torso. An autopsy is expected to confirm that as the cause of death, Lindberg said.

Milford Police Det. Sgt. Scott Tarasiewicz testified at Yvonne Cortis’ arraignment that she gave “no indication of an absolute motive other than the fact that the dog and the husband were suffering” and she was “putting them out of their misery.”

Family members described Yvonne Cortis, a Canadian citizen living in the United States on a green card and working as a meat slicer in Wixom, as “violent and mentally unbalanced.” Yvonne and Gregory Cortis had a “volatile” eight-year marriage, Tarasiewicz testified, and court records show he had filed for divorce twice.

Both divorce petitions were withdrawn.