Police say pair planned 15-year-old’s murder
A Silver Valley woman was arrested Thursday on suspicion of conspiring with her inmate son to have a 15-year-old relative killed.
Myra L. Caldwell, 56, and William L. Caldwell, 40, were arrested after allegedly hiring an undercover agent to murder the relative. The mother and son are each being held on $1 million bond.
William Caldwell was served with the warrant Thursday at the Kootenai County Jail, where he is awaiting trial on charges of raping the teenager, according to Coeur d’Alene police Sgt. Christie Wood.
An informant told authorities the pair, both from the small town of Pinehurst, were looking to hire a hit man so the teen couldn’t testify against William Caldwell in the rape case, Wood said.
When detectives served a search warrant at Myra Caldwell’s home Thursday, they found firearms, ammunition and “additional evidence,” Wood said.
Myra Caldwell was in Coeur d’Alene, reportedly running an errand, at the time of her arrest, Wood said.
Detectives also obtained a search warrant for William Caldwell’s jail cell to search for evidence.
William Caldwell told agents he wanted to “make sure (the relative) never showed up again,” police said Thursday.
According to court records, William Caldwell is scheduled for trial in the rape case in January.
He has been charged with nine counts of felony rape and a felony charge of lewd conduct with a child younger than 16 against the relative, who now lives out of state.
William Caldwell has a lengthy criminal history in Kootenai County. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1989 on felony robbery charges and to five years in prison in 1995 on felony drug charges, according to court records.
The rape case was filed in August after a citizen found a duffel bag containing letters that included details about the alleged crimes against the teen, the police press release said.
The murder-for-hire investigation has been under way for about a week, Wood said.
Post Falls police detectives, the multiagency North Idaho Regional Violent Crimes Task Force, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Kootenai County prosecutor’s office and U.S. postal inspectors worked together to build a case against the Caldwells, Wood said.
Their initial court appearance is scheduled for Monday.