Sandpoint man sentenced to life for hammer attack

A Sandpoint man was sentenced today to serve life in prison for a hammer attack that killed one person and injured three others in December 2010. Larry W. Cragun, 32, will serve 30 years of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to a news release from Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh. Cragun has a history of mental illness and admitted that he killed Patricia A. Heath, 43, in an attack on Dec. 19, 2010, in her mobile home near Bayview. In addition to the slaying of Heath, Cragun also seriously injured Lorraine Wallis, Michael L. Heath and his son, Jedidiah M. Heath. Cragun lived in a trailer about 75 feet away and had engaged the victims in an ongoing dispute by claiming bizarre harassment claims that authorities later said were unfounded. Cragun had alleged that the family was placing pubic hair on his food. Neighbors said Cragun posted fliers in Bayview, located in north Kootenai County along Lake Pend Oreille, warning that the government was invading his mind. On the day of the attack, the family was watching television when Cragun burst into the home carrying a large kitchen knife and hammer. He called them a profane name and attacked, according to police. Patricia Heath died the next day at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. Wallis has undergone several surgeries on her skull and her condition required daily visits by nurses and therapists. Cragun has an extensive criminal history including a felony assault conviction in Alaska in 2003 and felony domestic violence convictions in Washington and Idaho in 2004.