Spokane7
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February 14, 2012 in Idaho
Trio charged in Bonner County killing
A Bonner County man on Monday was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a 19-year-old man who was reported missing in September and recently found buried in a shallow grave, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Austin Blake Thrasher, 19, is accused of killing Michael Wyatt Smith, the sheriff’s office said. Thrasher’s wife, Jennifer Dunnagan Thrasher, 22, and Christopher Garlin, 19, each face a charge of accessory to murder.
Smith was last seen Sept. 13, the office reported. Detectives received a tip early last month that a 19-year-old was picked up near Hope “on the pretense of attending a party,” then shot twice and buried. Detectives found Smith’s body in a shallow grave on private property off of Wellington Road, north of Hope, the news release said.
The defendants already were in the Bonner County Jail on unrelated charges when they became suspects in Smith’s murder.
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RedCedar on February 14 at 11:52 a.m.
How many times do we read that “the body was found in a shallow grave”. Come on, people! If you’re going to murder someone, at least take the time to dig a deep hole. When the mafia buries someone, they’re never found. You would think, that to a guy who has just killed someone and has succeed in getting the body to a remote spot without being seen, spending an extra few hours to haul the body a good ways away from the road and dig a really deep hole would be time well spent. If the work seems hard and the weather is miserable, some thought about how that fresh air and exercise would seem when looking back on it from a death row prison cell ought to be enough motivation to keep digging.
Of course with the majority of murders never being solved, maybe most of them do take the time to dig a deep hole. They only catch the dumb ones and the lazy ones. I’m glad they caught this trio, though.
The article screams out for more detail. What “unrelated charges” were this lovely couple and their young friend in jail for prior to the murder being discovered? How did the detectives know where to dig for the body? And of course, what was the motive behind the murder? Is there any physical evidence, or will the prosecutor need to get one of the accomplices to testify against the other two?