Joseph Duncan

January 1: Jonathan Wade Ellington runs over and kills Vonette Larson of Athol in an apparent case of road rage that involved chases and gunfire. He is later sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison.

The year 2006 was a time of comings and goings for the Inland Northwest, in academia, sports, law enforcement and politics. Coming were Eastern Washington University's new president Rodolfo Arevalo at the start of the year and Washington State University's new president Elson Floyd at its end.

FARGO, N.D. – The FBI is investigating whether convicted murderer and sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III might be involved in the slaying of a Montana teenager found dead in North Dakota four years ago. "We're a long way from saying he's a suspect, but it's certainly a case we're reviewing," said Donald Robinson, an FBI supervisor in Coeur d'Alene.

The brother of murder victim Mark McKenzie is suing to prevent confessed killer Joseph Edward Duncan from making money off his crimes. Steve McKenzie filed the suit on behalf of his brother and his brother's fiancee, Brenda Matthews Groene, whom Duncan bludgeoned with a hammer in May 2005.

Joseph Duncan's defense team spent about $400,000 preparing for his triple-murder trial in Coeur d'Alene before the trial was canceled last week after a last-minute plea bargain. The Kootenai County public defender's office paid private investigators and defense experts tens of thousands of dollars and spent hundreds more on meetings over meals, including some at upscale Coeur d'Alene restaurants, according to records obtained by The Spokesman-Review.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said Wednesday he feels bad for family members of Joseph Duncan's murder victims if they misunderstood key points in the plea deal that Douglas crafted and Duncan accepted over the weekend. "Perhaps to some of the family members it was unclear," Douglas told The Spokesman-Review.

Jury selection in the triple-murder trial of Joseph Edward Duncan III has been canceled, fueling speculation that a plea deal has been reached with Kootenai County prosecutors. Kootenai County sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger issued a brief statement late Sunday, saying that instead of jury selection, a 9 a.m. hearing will be held today in front of District Judge Fred Gibler.

Joseph Edward Duncan will be tried in Kootenai County without two key pieces of evidence: The murder weapon and physical proof that in May 2005 he was in the Wolf Lodge home where he's accused of having murdered three members of a local family. The only eyewitness who can put Duncan in the family's home at the time of the crimes is 9-year-old Shasta Groene, whose testimony is crucial in convicting the accused killer. Duncan's trial starts Monday with jury selection.

If Joseph Duncan is convicted and sentenced to death, it will be a first for both Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams and Prosecutor Bill Douglas. In the dozen years that Adams has been the county's chief public defender, not a single death sentence has been handed down. In his career, not one person he has represented at trial has been sent to death row.

The public and news media will not be allowed to watch jury selection in the Joseph Duncan murder-kidnapping trial that begins Monday in Coeur d'Alene. First District Judge Fred Gibler ruled Friday that the accused killer's "right to a fair trial outweighs the right of the press" and the public to watch as potential jurors are questioned by attorneys in the case.

A hefty jury questionnaire was mailed recently to 800 Kootenai County residents summoned for the jury pool in the Joseph Duncan triple-murder trial. The prospective jurors, who are scheduled to begin reporting to court Monday to answer questions from defense and prosecution lawyers, were required to answer 75 questions "truthfully and completely" without consulting anyone else.