Man sentenced for killing 76-year-old

ST. MARIES – His voice sometimes indiscernible between sobs, Lawrence Banderob learned Tuesday that he will spend at least 35 years in prison for murdering 76-year-old Miriam Waltch in February 2006.

First District Court Judge Fred Gibler sentenced Banderob, 39, to 35 years to life under a plea agreement. Banderob will not be eligible for parole until February 2041.

Before he received his sentence, Banderob addressed the tiny Benewah County courtroom, wiping his eyes with handcuffed arms: “I think it’s awful: Because of my drinking, I caused another person’s life to end.”

He glanced at his family sitting in benches behind him several times during the proceedings but looked at the floor when he spoke to the judge. “I don’t remember killing her at home, but I guess I did,” he said. “I sit in jail every day and think about her and her family.”

Banderob’s court-appointed attorney, Tim Gresback, asked the judge for a sentence of 10 years, but Gibler said the brutal nature of the crime warranted a longer sentence. Banderob bound Waltch with electronic cables, stole her car, then returned to her house and shot the woman, once in the right calf and once in the head, with a .22 caliber rifle.

“I think it’s a sad day for this community when a man with redeeming qualities will die in prison,” said Gresback, who believes Banderob showed genuine remorse.

But Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne said, “I wish the justice system could always work this well. It minimized the agony of the secondary victims,” referring to family members and friends. “It did justice to Miriam Waltch and Lawrence Banderob as well.”

Banderob in February pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of a plea deal. In exchange, the prosecution agreed not to seek the death penalty. The state also dropped a first-degree arson charge.

The defense argued that Banderob had no intention of murdering Waltch and was driven by chronic alcoholism and possible anti-social personality disorder, a condition that makes a person act on impulse.

“He was a typical farm kid,” Banderob’s mother, Wilma Banderob, told the judge. “We were a happy-go-lucky family, a strong Christian family. We are not those kind of people. Larry is not that kind of person.”

The night of the crime, Banderob had been drinking in St. Maries and was kicked out of a tavern. His daughter drove him home, but their car became stuck in the mud.

Banderob then stole a truck from a nearby home, but that also became stuck. According to the records, he entered Waltch’s home and demanded use of her vehicle to get his car unstuck. When Waltch, who lived alone, failed to comply, Banderob beat and bound her.

He drove home but later returned and shot the woman. The next afternoon, Banderob returned to Waltch’s home and used gasoline to start a fire. He also pushed her red Chevrolet Corsica over the edge of a hill and set it on fire.

Virginia Holliday, a friend of Waltch’s, described the New York native as a careful, witty woman, an avid gardener and an animal activist. “I loved her like a mother,” Holliday said. “She was wise where I wasn’t, and I miss her very much.”

Part of the plea agreement requests that Banderob be sent to prison in Orofino, Idaho, so he can be closer to his family for visits. The agreement also lifts the no-contact orders between Banderob and his teenage daughter, Desi, who held her grandmother during the proceeding.

Becky Jean Bailey, Banderob’s wife at the time of the murder, in January pleaded guilty to arson in exchange for other charges being dropped.

“It’s a bad deal,” said Banderob’s uncle, Chuck Shierman, 62. “It’s sad it all had to happen.”