Man expected to enter guilty plea in connection to girlfriend’s death
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IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man is expected to plead guilty in the 2019 murder case of his girlfriend.
Philip Michael Schwab, 35, appeared via Zoom from the Bonneville County Jail for a status conference Tuesday morning before District Judge Bruce Pickett. At the hearing, attorneys and Pickett scheduled a change of plea hearing for March 30.
“We have had a chance to meet (with prosecutors) and I think things have really started to progress,” said Schwab’s defense attorney Jordan Crane. “I’m confident to a relative degree of certainty we will have this matter resolved if the court will give us those three to four weeks. I just need to finalize some things and sit down with Mr. Schwab and make sure that he is completely up to speed and on board with the way things are going.”
Prosecutors charged Schwab with first-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed Kaylynn Blue on June 23, 2019. Investigators discovered Blue’s body concealed in a shallow backyard grave.
It is not known what Schwab will plead guilty to or what the plea agreement entails but that information will be discussed at the upcoming hearing.
Court documents outline the disturbing details recounted by Schwab to detectives after he was arrested June 24, 2019. Schwab said that days before the stabbing, he had placed a knife in a dresser drawer. He then posted hundreds of bizarre messages on his Facebook page, many alluding to the crime he allegedly committed.
RELATED | Man accused of murder had hundreds of disturbing posts on his Facebook page
Schwab’s case has brought unique factors to the table. Doctors have previously diagnosed the man with a disability that made it difficult for him to understand the legal proceedings. Defense attorneys filed documents in 2019 saying Schwab was diagnosed with 22q 11.2 deletion or DiGeorge Syndrome. One symptom of the syndrome is developmental delays causing difficulties in understanding.
According to the National Institutes of Health, DiGeorge Syndrome symptoms vary widely from person to person. An estimated 1 in 4,000 people are diagnosed with the disorder each year. People with the syndrome are at an increased risk for developing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
Bonneville County Prosecuting attorneys declined to pursue the death penalty despite the “overwhelming evidence in the case” and “utter disregard for human life.” Court documents include that Schwab’s disability and IQ of 76 make issuing the death penalty unwarranted.
While prosecutors say Schwab’s DiGeorge Syndrome is mitigating, under Idaho Law the condition does not impact Schwab’s legal competency, according to court documents. Additionally, Idaho law passed in 1982 states “mental condition shall not be a defense to any charge of criminal conduct.”
RELATED | Kaylynn Blue tried to run as boyfriend stabbed her to death, court documents reveal
Schwab is not the only homicide case in Bonneville County to reach plea agreements over the recent months. In February, Brian Dripps pleaded guilty to the cold case murder of Angie Dodge. That same month, Marshall Hendricks pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter rather than his original second-degree murder charge. A judge sentenced Kenneth Jones for the 2007 killing of Stephanie Eldredge in January. Jones pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other felony charges amended from second-degree murder.
