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Idaho man gets life sentence for shootings during prisoner escape – UPI.com

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Idaho man gets life sentence for shootings during prisoner escape – UPI.com


1 of 2 | Nicholas Umphenour, who was convicted of shooting two Idaho corrections officers while helping a prisoner make a daring escape in March, received a sentence of life in prison this week with no chance of parole for 40 years. Photo courtesy of the City of Boise

Oct. 5 (UPI) — A man convicted of shooting two Idaho corrections officers while helping a prisoner make a daring escape received a sentence of life in prison.

Nicholas Umphenour will also have no parole eligibility for 40 years, Ada County District Judge Nancy Baskin ruled Friday.

Umphenour previously pleaded guilty to three counts of assault or battery on law enforcement and one count each of unlawful possession of a firearm, and use of a firearm in a crime as well as one lesser charge.

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The 29-year-old in March helped plan and carry out the escape of prisoner Skylar Meade on March 20.

Meade was being transferred to the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho for treatment when a then-unknown suspect began shooting at Idaho Department of Corrections officers.

Two officers were shot by the suspect, while a third was hit in the confusion by bullets fired by a responding police officer.

Authorities later identified Umphenour as the accomplice, leading to a manhunt.

Umphenour and Meade were captured a day later in Twin Falls, Idaho.

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Meade, who officials say has affiliations with white supremacist gangs, had been incarcerated since October 2016 after convictions for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement.

Meade received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 35 years for his part in the escape.

In June, authorities charged Meade and Umphenour with murder in the death of an 83-year-old man whose body was found near Leland, Idaho. Officials believe Meade and Umphenour killed the elderly man while on the run.

They continue to investigate the death of a second 72-year-old man which they believe may have involved the two fugitives.

The judge on Friday cited Umphenour’s total disregard for human life in handing down the prison sentence.

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During the proceedings, the court heard a recorded phone call made by Umphenour to his step-mother.

“It doesn’t bother me what kind of animal is that. It doesn’t bother me one bit and I know it should,” Umphenour said in reference to shooting the corrections officers.

“You are a persistent violator. You are a career criminal,” Baskin told the court, adding the 40-year-period of parole ineligibility was primarily to protect the public from Umphenour.



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Idaho

U of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger investigated in 2nd home invasion attack

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U of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger investigated in 2nd home invasion attack


Alleged mass-murderer Bryan Kohberger was reportedly investigated in connection with another home invasion attack that occurred not far from where he’s accused of slaying four University of Idaho students in an off-campus home. The 29-year-old suspect was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home in December 2022 after four students were killed in a house where three of them had lived and a …



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Bryan Kohberger investigated over nearby home invasion year before alleged slayings of 4 University of Idaho students

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Bryan Kohberger investigated over nearby home invasion year before alleged slayings of 4 University of Idaho students


Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger was once investigated in connection to a chilling home invasion that took place mere miles from where he allegedly slaughtered four college students inside their off-campus housing in 2022, according to a new report.

New information about the accused killer comes after ABC News obtained bodycam footage of police responding to a suspected home invasion in nearby Pullman, Wash., in October 2021 — more than a year before the University of Idaho students were stabbed to death.

“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” a frightened woman told police.

“I kicked the s–t out of their stomach and screamed super loud, and they like flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

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The alleged incident — which took place just 10 miles from the gruesome slayings in Moscow, Idaho — happened at 3:30 a.m., the woman told police, adding that the masked intruder was silent the whole time.

Her roommate immediately called the police, the outlet reported, but the case was left unsolved as police were left without a suspect or evidence at the time.

The terrifying incident shared eerie similarities with the gruesome quadruple University of Idaho murders.

Officials said Bryan Kohberger was investigated in connection with a home invasion that took place prior to killing Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both 21, their housemate Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, on Nov. 13, 2022. AP

Kohberger, 29, is accused of butchering students Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Madison Mogen, 21, around 4 a.m. inside their off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.

A surviving housemate later told police she saw a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing the house after overhearing cries and sounds of a struggle.

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Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home on Dec. 30 and charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary — charges he has since pleaded not guilty.

Thirteen days later he was named a person of interest in the Pullman case, ABC reported, but is no longer considered a suspect. 

“We have no reason or evidence to believe he was involved in this burglary at this time,” Pullman police told the outlet, citing a height difference between the alleged attackers.

While Kohberger is 6 feet tall, the alleged attacker in the Pullman incident was described as being 5’3′ to 5’5′. The accused stabber was also not yet enrolled at Washington State University at the time of the 2021 incident, the outlet reported.

Kohberger stabbed the four individuals at approximately 4 a.m. in Moscow, Idaho.

The case is now closed but remains unsolved, police said.

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“My family and I have been frustrated that the case was not investigated more in-depth or resolved,” the victim in the break-in told the outlet.

Kohberger’s highly anticipated trial is slated to begin in August and last through November.

Kohberger is currently facing four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge in connection with the early morning massacre. REUTERS
The victim expressed their family’s frustration that the case was not investigated more thouroughly. Pullman Police Department

The lengthy trial, which was moved to Idaho’s capital of Boise, will include two phases — one to determine his guilt or innocence, and the other, if he’s found guilty, to determine whether he should receive the death penalty. 



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Bryan Kohberger probed for home invasion year before Idaho student murders

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Bryan Kohberger probed for home invasion year before Idaho student murders


Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the Idaho quadruple murder case, was once investigated in connection with a home invasion in Pullman, Washington. This opens many doors for a flock of questions.

Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Pool, File)(AP)

Who is Bryan Kohberger?

Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD criminology student at Washington State University, was arrested weeks after the Idaho murders at his parents’ home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He now faces four first-degree murder charges and a felony burglary charge. Prosecutors allege Kohberger meticulously planned the attack, stalking the victims’ off-campus rental home prior to the killings.

The Pullman home invasion occurred in October 2021, just 10 miles from Moscow, Idaho, where four college students were brutally stabbed to death in November 2022. Newly released body camera footage cited by ABC News provides a bodycam footage of the break-in that left a young woman traumatized and fearing for her life.

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“I heard my door open and I looked over, and someone was wearing a ski mask and had a knife,” the woman told officers in the footage, her voice trembling. “I kicked the s*** out of their stomach and screamed super loud. They flew back into my closet and then ran out my door and up the stairs.”

Kohberger named person of interest in Pullman case after Idaho murders

The alleged attack happened around 3:30 a.m. The masked intruder, who carried a knife, entered her bedroom silently. Despite her quick reaction and her roommate’s immediate call to 911, police found no trace of the suspect or any physical evidence.

Just over a year later, on November 13, 2022, the town of Moscow, Idaho, was shaken by the brutal murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. Survivors in the home described a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” fleeing after hearing cries and the sounds of a violent struggle.

Thirteen days after the Idaho murders, Kohberger was named a person of interest in the Pullman case. The eerie similarities between the two incidents—both involving a masked intruder, a knife, and nighttime break-ins—drew immediate attention. However, authorities later clarified that Kohberger is no longer considered a suspect in the Pullman case.

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Despite initial suspicions, critical differences between the Pullman and Moscow cases ultimately ruled out Kohberger’s involvement in the earlier incident. The victim of the Pullman break-in described the intruder as 5’3” to 5’5”, while Kohberger stands six feet tall.



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