Woman arrested in decades-old killing

BOISE – Police arrested a 61-year-old woman and spent Saturday combing through her former home in Idaho’s capital where they say a killing took place nearly three decades ago and went undiscovered until now.

Judy Gough, 61, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and felony use of a firearm in 3rd District Court in Caldwell. She was then moved to Ada County Jail in Boise, said Boise Police Department spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

Officers learned of the killing recently, and police refused to identify the victim, saying the investigation is ongoing and that family members had not yet been notified.

“This is a case that is a brand new investigation,” Hightower said. “This is not related to any case that BPD has ever investigated.”

She declined to say how police learned of the slaying.

Though the killing is alleged to have been committed in the Boise house about 1980, Gough was arrested in Nampa, Idaho, where she now lives.

Officers are likely to continue their search of the home, located in a quiet south Boise neighborhood, for the rest of the weekend, Hightower said. The single-story, ranch-style house made of brick is about two blocks from Hillcrest Country Club.

“They’re still out there looking for evidence,” Hightower said. “There is a story here, but detectives are doing their best to piece it all together. We’re still in that process now.”

According to 2006 Ada County tax records, the house is owned by Thomas K. Gough.

Calls to a phone number listed for Thomas and Judy Gough in Nampa weren’t returned.