Prison-escapee gets two life sentences for murder charges

The man who killed two North Idaho residents will never see the outside of prison, a judge ruled Tuesday in Nez Perce County’s 2nd District Court.

Judge Michelle Evans told Skylar W. Meade, 33, that it was “not hard” making the decision to sentence him to two consecutive, fixed life sentences. At least Meade still had a life, she said.

To avoid the death penalty, Meade pleaded guilty to murdering James Mauney, 83, of Juliaetta, and Gerald Henderson, 72, of Orofino, on March 20, 2024. Meade and accomplice Nicholas D. Umphenour, 30, killed the men while executing a bloody prison escape. Umphenour made the same deal in exchange for his guilty pleas, with sentencing set for March 20.

“You will die in prison at some point in the future,” Evans said as she passed the sentence. “You will not see the outside of prison.”

Just prior to sentencing, Meade’s attorney, Anne C. Taylor of Coeur d’Alene, told Evans that Meade accepted the terms of his plea agreement. However, Meade’s murders were preceded by a life that featured a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and an upbringing in a family “where incarceration was the norm,” Taylor said. In light of these disadvantages, the educational, juvenile justice and adult justice systems “failed” him, she said, and she hoped this information would guide Meade’s treatment in prison.

Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman made a brief argument asking the judge to impose the sentence agreed to in the plea agreement.

Evans agreed with the prosecution. And, in response to Taylor’s presentation about Meade’s “disability,” Evans said she would not tell the Idaho Department of Correction how to treat Meade.

Coleman told the Lewiston Tribune via text message that the sentence is imperfect.

“Meade will be in prison the rest of his life and there won’t be years and years of countless appeals, so that’s good,” Coleman wrote. “But it doesn’t bring the victims back for their families or alleviate pain the families and the community feels by the losses. Hopefully, it’s an important step towards closure.”

Meade is already serving a 30- to 99-year sentence for his prison escape conviction.