Arrasmith Appeal Claims A Conspiracy Prosecution Testimony Said A Police Search Found No Guns, But After The Trial The Defense Learned That Two Were Retrieved

Kenneth Arrasmith continues to express outrage over his double murder conviction in an appeal filed with the Idaho Supreme Court.

He accuses the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Department of an “elaborate and deliberate conspiracy” to conceal evidence that might have helped his defense. He adds the prosecution and 2nd District Judge Ida Leggett also denied him a fair trial.

“The entire system was duped in this case,” he said through his attorneys, Craig and Roy Mosman.

Arrasmith was sentenced earlier this year to life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder of Luella Bingham. He was given a minimum 25-year term for the second-degree murder of her husband, Ronald.

Arrasmith was accused of killing the Clarkston, Wash., couple outside a Lewiston auto shop. He said they had sexually abused his teenage daughter and other girls.

The appeal focuses on two guns retrieved from the auto shop. Sheriff’s deputies never disclosed they found one gun at the shop until the Mosmans learned of it after the trial.

That gun belonged to the son of the Sheriff Ron Koeper’s second-in-command, Lt. Scott Whitcomb. Whitcomb returned the gun to his son later in the day of the killings. It was never mentioned in any report.

A second gun was located in a car outside the shop and was removed by Whitcomb’s son, Cliff, the day after.

At his trial, Arrasmith argued selfdefense and testified he believed both of the Binghams had a gun when he confronted them.

The prosecution produced testimony the scene was thoroughly searched and no guns were found.

“Are you suggesting that the police or someone else spirited this gun away that she was supposed to be hiding?” Arrasmith was asked during cross-examination.

That is a possibility, the appeal suggests: “It is perfectly conceivable that Ron Bingham was reaching for Cliff Whitcomb’s gun at the time of the shooting and that Capt. Scott Whitcomb found the gun near Ron Bingham’s body.”

Koeper said his officers determined the gun in the shop was outside the crime scene and not relevant to the deaths. Nez Perce County Prosecutor Denise Rosen said she was never told about the guns, but agreed they were not pertinent to the case.

Leggett said the officers should have mentioned the gun they found in a report, but agreed it had little value as evidence.

Arrasmith also questioned if Leggett was wrong in excluding evidence of past convictions and past victims of the Binghams. Arrasmith said he was not able to argue he was protecting himself or his family, the appeal said.

If an acquittal is denied, Arrasmith asks for a new trial.