Dylan P. Paschall said the last time he saw Luke Anana-Kuewa, the teenager was alive. That was nearly one year ago, after authorities say an evening of drinking rum and smoking marijuana turned into a violent clash on the bank of the icy Mill Pond at Spirit Lake. Now Paschall, of Post Falls, is in the Kootenai County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Anana-Kuewa. Investigators say the 18-year-old was beaten, choked, smothered and left in the frigid water on the evening of March 24, 2012. Kootenai County sheriff’s detectives arrested Paschall, 20, Monday night. He is being held on $100,000 bail/Scott Maben, SR. More here.

Question: There's a place called Bubba's Pit at Spirit Lake? Who would know?

A convicted killer who left prison in 2008 is headed back there after a jury in southwest Idaho convicted him of assaulting a family member with a large knife. Donald Leonard Houser, 39, was living in Plummer in 1995 when he shot his former girlfriend, Angela LeSarte, to death in front of Bobbie's Bar in Plummer. LeSarte's father is former longtime Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Bernard LeSarte. She was the mother of four children/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.

Three Bonner County residents have been charged with the murder of Michael Wyatt Smith, 19, (below) who was last seen walking along Peninsula Road in Hope, Idaho, at 11 p.m. Sept. 13, according to the Bonner County Sheriff's Office. Austin Thrasher, 19, (upper left) Thrasher's wife, Jennifer, 22, (middle) and Christopher Garlin, 19, (upper right) of the Cocalalla and Hope areas were arrested after several vehicles and firearms were seized by the authorities. The sheriff's department was tipped off to the possible murder of Smith on Jan. 6. His body has since been found in a shallow grave off Wellington Road in the Rapid Lightening area. Next of kin were notified in California last week. Allegedly the three suspects picked Smith up under the pretense of attending a party. Later, he was reportedly taken into a treed area near Cocalalla and shot twice. His body was transported for burial. Thrasher has been charged with first-degree murder; his wife and Garlin with accessory to murder. More here.

Reaction?

“The Three Stephanies” are down to two after one was shot Christmas Day. Stefanie Comack was one of three St. Maries girls in the class of 2011 named Stephanie. Stephanie Mills, Stephani Brede and Ms. Comack adopted the moniker when they became friends in middle school. Ms. Comack was shot Dec. 25. She was airlifted to Kootenai Medical Center where she later died. Her boyfriend, Joe Herrera, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. … Her friends described her as the “life of the party” and a “tomboy.” … One of the Stephanie Trio, Ms. Mills, met Ms. Comack in the sixth grade. “We called her “Bugs” because she used to put bugs in her pockets and bring them inside when she was little,” Ms. Mills said. “She was upbeat, all smiles and when she did get mad, she was over it in a second”/Mary Orr, St. Maries Gazette Record. (Gazette Record photo)

Thoughts?

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death early today and his brother was arrested as a suspect, Dutch police said. Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels said police were called to a home in the port city in the early hours of the morning and found the 24-year-old Dutch player bleeding from a stab wound. The officers and ambulance paramedics were unable to resuscitate Halman. Wessels said the officers arrested Halman’s 22-year-old brother. She declined to give his name, in line with Dutch privacy rules/Associated Press. More here.

Thoughts?

Item: Bludgeoning suspect pleads not guilty: Grand jury hands down seven-count indictment in Bayview case/David Cole, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The suspect in the Bayview hammer bludgeoning from last month pleaded not guilty Wednesday on all seven counts of a grand jury indictment. Larry W. Cragun, 31, of Bayview, appeared before 1st District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson after being indicted on first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and burglary. The indictment came down last week.

Question: How do you protect yourself against the dangerously mentally ill?

A Post Falls woman faces murder charges after a boy she was baby-sitting died of a head injury today, police say. Amanda Skogen, 25, was booked into Kootenai County Jail today on a charge of first-degree murder. Under Idaho state law, she could face life in prison or possibly the death penalty if convicted. The boy, 3-year-old Cohen Johnson, was taken off life support and died at 1:21 p.m. at Sacred Heart Medical Center today as a result of the injuries he sustained Monday while in Skogen’s care, police said. On Monday, officers responded to the 500 block of North Elm Road in Post Falls for a report of a child who was breathing but unresponsive/Chelsea Bannach, SR. More here.

Question: Is first-degree murder an appropriate charge for this crime?

Rebecca  Schiering is shown (in this 2005 file photo) restocking racks at the Reclothery consignment store in Spokane, Wash. Schiering and her son Phillip died in what authorities are calling a violent domestic dispute in Spokane Valley Sunday. Read Meghann Cuniff’s SR story here. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Monday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
  
• Highs returning to upper 80s, low 90s/Mike Prager, SR
• Coeur d’Alene police seek endangered runaways/KHQ
  
• Hayden considers launch fees at Honeysuckle Beach/David Cole, Press
• STEM charter school sought for Rathdrum/Maureen Dolan, Press
• Thrift store manager’s laptop accidentally sold/Alecia Warren, Press
• Husband of driver who hit detectives’ car goes to prison/Rob Kauder, KXLY
  
• Normal fire season predicted on state lands/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
  
• Endowment fund: Good year in 2010 after bad 2009/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Courage Award: Wasden ‘lets chips fall where they may/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Idaho’s contract w/Connecting Idaho Partners now $85M/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
  

Becky Schiering knew adversity in her lifetime; she had battled drug addiction and had bounced back to become a person who was passionate about giving back to the community. Becky’s life was cut tragically short when she and one of her sons were murdered Sunday by her ex-fiancée. Friends and family members say Becky was no stranger to adversity; she overcame an addiction to methamphetamine in order to better provide for her three young children. Becky was not afraid to talk about the problems in her past; in 2008 she talked to KXLY about how CPS had helped her with her drug addiction when she was pregnant with her twin sons Jack and Phillip. “It was a Godsend that somebody called, it was a Godsend that somebody stepped in and said something finally,” she said during that 2008 interview/Tori Brunetti, KXLY. More here.

Question: Do you know anyone who has beaten meth addiction?

James Biela, glances toward the courtroom gallery at the start of the penalty phase on the murder conviction in Reno, Nev., in this May 28 file photo. A jury sentenced a Biela to death this afternoon for raping and killing a college coed after sexually assaulting two others in a string of attacks that had the city of Reno on edge for most of 2008. Story here. (AP Photo/Marilyn Newton, Pool, File)

• Pilot dies in Felts Field/Spokane chopper crash/Spokesman-Review
• Supreme Court rules for Silver Beach property owners/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Coeur d’Alene council OKs 15th Street bike lanes 5-1/CdA Ped & Bike Blog
• Lake City grad Krier makes JC all-America first team/Staci Hudson, Press Room
• Allred, w/pickup truck, touts ‘fair-share’ fees for heavy vehicles/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• BNSF reopens tracks west of Spokane after derailment/Spokesman-Review
• Family in Alaska plane crash has strong Idaho ties/Idaho Statesman
• Kootenai readies for centennial celebration/Ralph Bartholdt, Bonner County Bee