Escaped prisoner charged with murder — and facing death penalty — uses standing silent plea

(Idaho Statesman) — Skylar Meade, the prisoner charged with murder in the death of a North Idaho man, stood silent as 2nd District Judge Michelle Evans asked him how he pleads.

Evans entered a not-guilty plea for the first-degree murder charge on Meade’s behalf Thursday afternoon.

The 32-year-old was accused of killing 83-year-old James Mauney, of Juliaetta, while he was on the run after ambushing a Boise hospital. A grand jury indicted both Meade and Nicholas Umphenour, who police said helped him plan the ambush, on the murder charges in June. Police said the two suspects were involved in a second homicide in North Idaho, though no charges for that death have been filed yet.

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Mauney was last seen walking his dogs and was shot in the head, according to Idaho State Police and a recently unsealed indictment obtained by the Idaho Statesman. His body was later found in a desolate area near Leland, about 30 miles northeast of Lewiston.

The Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office intends to seek the death penalty against Meade if he’s convicted. In their filing, prosecutors said Meade had “utter disregard” for human life and has “exhibited a propensity to commit murder.” To have someone receive a death sentence, prosecutors must prove that there were aggravated circumstances to the killing.

Meade was accused of either “directly committing the offense” or aiding and abetting, according to the indictment. In Idaho, someone can be charged with first-degree murder even if they weren’t the one to commit the offense.

“Mr. Meade, I just want to make sure that you do understand that this particular offense that you have been charged with carries with it a maximum penalty of up to life in prison,” Evans asked Meade on Thursday. “In this case, given what the state has requested, it could involve the imposition of the death penalty.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Meade responded.

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He’s being represented by Anne Taylor, a Coeur d’Alene-based attorney who is also representing another high-profile suspect Bryan Kohberger. Taylor has been representing Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in 2022, and was appointed to lead Meade’s defense Wednesday.

Initially, Lewiston-based private attorney Rick Cuddihy was assigned to represent Meade, but he’s only allowed to act as co-counsel in death penalty cases. Taylor is qualified to work as the lead attorney.

Meade pleads guilty to escape charges

Last month, Meade was sentenced in Ada County for five felonies, three of which were related to his escape. Umphenour pleaded not guilty to the seven charges against him for his part in the ambush and is expected to face a jury in October, court records showed.

Meade was serving a minimum 10-year prison sentence at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Kuna in March when he was taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise for self-inflicted injuries. There, he and Umphenour ambushed three correctional officers in a coordinated plan to break Meade out of custody, according to law enforcement.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Heather Reilly said Meade feigned his medical injuries by claiming that he’d swallowed someone else’s medication, swallowed razor blades and injured his hand. But once at the Boise hospital, Meade refused treatment from the medical staff because he knew Umphenour was outside.

Around 2 a.m. March 20, after the three correctional officers escorted Meade outside of the hospital to the ambulance bay, where the prison van was parked, Umphenour shot two of the officers from behind, Reilly said. The other officer was accidentally shot by a Boise police officer. All three of the officers survived.

Umphenour and Meade fled in a vehicle, and law enforcement found them 36 hours later in the Twin Falls area.

“This truly was an ambush,” Reilly said during Meade’s sentencing on the escape charges last month. An Ada County judge sentenced Meade to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 35 years.

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Police allege another homicide in North Idaho

Before Meade and Umphenour were captured in Twin Falls, the men drove six hours up to northern Idaho, where local and state law enforcement agencies said they killed two men, including Mauney. He was last seen in the early morning of March 20.

That same day, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office found the body of Gerald “Don” Henderson in his cabin outside of Orofino. Police said shackles that belonged to Meade, along with Mauney’s dogs, were found in the cabin.

Henderson, remembered by his partner as a quintessential mountain man who made his life an adventure, had a brief acquaintance with Umphenour a decade ago.

Meade and Umphenour haven’t yet been charged for Henderson’s death. Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told the Statesman in an email Friday that the “case remains under investigation” as they are processing evidence and information. Once the case is completed, it will be forwarded to prosecutors, Snell said.

“Unfortunately, there is no timeline for completion, but the case continues moving forward,” he added.

With Umphenour’s case still pending in Ada County, he hasn’t been transported up north to face the first-degree murder charge in Nez Perce County.

Twelve witnesses, many of whom are members of law enforcement, were called to testify in front of the Nez Perce County grand jury in June, according to the indictment. Grand jury proceedings are sealed, even to those accused of the crimes, and give prosecutors a way to charge someone while bypassing a public preliminary hearing.

His next hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. PST Thursday, Sept. 5.