A man who beat, choked and stabbed his ex-girlfriend so severely that she was hospitalized for three days has been convicted of attempted murder.

Ernest Coppage, 37, faces up to 20 years in prison. He will be sentenced this fall.

Coppage was convicted Friday morning in South Central District Court. The jury of nine women and three men returned their verdict just after 10 a.m.

The victim, Lindsay Wenger, was in the courtroom when Judge Donald Jorgensen read the decision. She had no comment on the outcome.

Prosecutor Lloyd Suhr, an assistant Burleigh County state's attorney, said justice was served.

"This is about the victim, getting the outcome the victim deserves," Suhr said in front of the courthouse steps after the trial. "She was the victim of a horrible crime. The defendant got his trial, and we got the outcome the victim deserved. She got her day in court, too."

The assault took place in the early morning of Oct. 24, in Wenger's apartment on North Sixth Street. She and Coppage began fighting after she came home and found him using crack cocaine in the apartment with a friend of his. Wenger slapped him, and he retaliated. Suhr said Coppage beat Wenger with his fists and a toilet plunger, and used the plunger to choke her. He also stabbed her in the leg. Police found Wenger, 23, on the kitchen floor with her eyes swollen shut and blood coming from her mouth. She had bruises on her arms and puncture wounds on her leg.

"His method of retaliation resulted in her being hospitalized for three days," Suhr said. "She still does have some lingering effects from it."

Coppage was initially charged with aggravated assault. But after further investigation, prosecutors decided there was enough evidence to charge him with attempted murder. Conviction on that charge - a Class A felony - is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

Defense attorney Kent Morrow said it was too early to say if Coppage would appeal the verdict. He has until 30 days after sentencing to do so. Morrow said Coppage beat Wenger after attempts to diffuse the situation. Coppage also called 911 to alert police to what happened that October night.

"He made attempts to diffuse the situation at the beginning, but wasn't successful,"Morrow said. "After he started hitting her, he just overdid it."

Morrow said the photos of Wenger's injuries - which he called terrible wounds - probably had a major impact on the jury.

Lead juror Ellen Pfliiger had no comment on the case.

The trial began Tuesday, and jurors started deliberating at 1:35 p.m. Thursday. They were sent home at 5 p.m., and reconvened at 8:30 Friday morning. They reached their verdict at 10:03 a.m.

Coppage, who also was convicted on the aggravated-assault charge, is being held in the Burleigh County Detention Center until sentencing. Jorgensen ordered him to undergo a chemical-dependency evaluation and an anger-management assessment.