Suspect 'wants to go to trial'

Former Thompson Falls resident Danielle Wood appeared in 20th District Judicial Court this week. Wood, who is charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Matt LaFriniere, her former boyfriend, was scheduled for an omnibus hearing on Tuesday.

Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher delayed the omnibus hearing until Dec. 17, 2019, at the request of attorney Kirk Krutilla with the public defender’s office. Krutilla and another public defender, William Managhan, have taken over Wood’s defense. She was previously represented by attorneys Eldena Bear Don’t Walk and Ashley Morigeau.

Wood is set to go to trial in January on the charge, to which she pleaded not guilty in April 2019. Wood has been held in the Lake County Jail since she was arrested on March 20.

On Tuesday, Krutilla told Judge Christopher that he hadn’t had much time to go over the case with Wood, but that “against emphatic advice of both her attorneys, she still wants to go to trial. … She is emphatic about going to trial and her innocence.”

Wood appeared in court in Thompson Falls on Tuesday but did not address the court. “If there’s anything that can change the status of your pleas, you need to do that before omnibus,” Judge Christopher told Wood. The Judge said previously that it is the court's policy that if a plea is changed from not guilty to guilty after the omnibus, the court is not bound to sentencing guidelines presented in a plea agreement.

LaFriniere, 51, was found dead at his home on Airport Road east of Thompson Falls on May 3, 2018. Charging documents stated that LaFriniere was found under a piece of plywood outside his home with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, back and hand when he did not show up for work on that date.

Investigators alleged that the homicide occurred on the evening of May 2, 2018. Wood was hosting a Pampered Chef party at her house that evening, and witnesses at the party told investigators that Wood left the party between 7 and 8 p.m. Investigators also allege that cellphone records show Wood’s phone near her house and LaFriniere’s house that evening. During the investigation, a receipt for a .38 special caliber revolver was found in Wood’s purse, but the handgun has not been found, according to court records. Documents showed that the bullet recovered during LaFriniere’s autopsy was consistent with the gun Wood purchased.

On Tuesday, Krutilla told Judge Christopher that delaying the omnibus hearing would give attorneys time for any motions or questionnaires that needed to be addressed. Wood’s trial is set to begin January 21, 2020.