ASPEN, Colo. -- A judge has ruled that actor Charlie Sheen must appear in person at a hearing in Aspen on allegations he threatened his wife with a knife.

Pitkin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin said Thursday the judge denied a request by the actor's lawyers that he should be allowed to participate on Feb. 8 by phone.

Mordkin says prosecutors did not take a position on the request.

Sheen, 44, was arrested in Aspen on Christmas Day on suspicion of felony menacing, domestic violence and other charges. Sheen's wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen, told police he put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her.

In a 911 call, Mueller Sheen could be heard weeping and sometimes her words were inaudible. Sobbing, she told the dispatcher she wanted to report "domestic abuse."

"My husband had me with a knife ... and I feared for my life and he threatened me," Mueller Sheen said on the call. "I thought I was gonna die for one hour."

She described the knife as a switchblade Sheen had in his back pocket.

The "Two and a Half Men" actor told police the couple slapped each other and that he snapped two pairs of his wife's eyeglasses in front of her, but he denied threatening her with a knife.

Attorneys for both husband and wife said they want to try to reconcile.