Wood guilty of homicide

After nine days of testimony and eight hours of deliberation, a jury found former Thompson Falls resident Danielle Wood guilty of deliberate homicide last week.

Wood was convicted of the charge in the May 2018 death of Matthew LaFriniere, who was found dead at his residence east of Thompson Falls. Wood was arrested in the matter in March 2019. She was living in Polson at the time of her arrest and has been held for almost two years at the Lake County Jail while she awaited trial.

"Justice was done today," Assistant Attorney General Daniel Guzynski said last Thursday after the jury announced the verdict. "It has been a long ordeal for this community and Matt's family. I would like to thank the jury for listening intently for the last two weeks, and I hope this brings closure to the LaFriniere family." Guzynski commended the state Division of Criminal Investigations team for the work they did on the case, especially lead agent Kevin McCarvel. "The case was challenging in that the firearm was never located, but the tremendous effort by agent Kevin McCarvel and other investigators allowed the jury to return a verdict of guilty," Guzynski stated.

According to Assistant Attorney General Stephanie Robles, who assisted Guzynski in the case, "The strongest evidence was the witnesses and the people of the community who helped put together the timeline, along with the geolocation data."

After the verdict was read in the Sanders County courtroom last Thursday, there were muffled cries of joy. George LaFriniere, Matt's father, said "the pain went all the way around." He explained that the one hurt most of all was Matt and Danielle's daughter, who he said had now lost both parents.

The defense attorneys opted not to call any witnesses during the trial. The prosecutors, including Guzynski and Robles, called several witnesses, including LaFriniere's family members, firearms experts, state investigators and experts who analyzed data from the cell phones of Wood, LaFriniere and a Tracfone that sent cryptic messages to both their phones.

Also testifying were Sanders County residents who attended a Pampered Chef party at Wood's home the evening of May 2, 2018, when experts testified the murder occurred. Witnesses stated that Wood left the party, which was held at her home in Thompson Falls. Another witness from Ronan Sports and Western testified that Wood purchased a .38 caliber pistol approximately two months prior to LaFriniere's murder. Wood's ex-boyfriend, Drew Stobie, testified that she told him she threw the gun away. Firearms experts later testified that the bullets recovered from LaFriniere's body matched those that would have been discharged from the pistol Wood purchased. A firearm was never recovered in the investigation.

Experts also testified that the steering wheel, passenger and driver's side doors of Wood's vehicle tested positive for gunpowder residue, and video footage of a business located between Wood's and LaFriniere's residences showed a vehicle matching Wood's driving toward and away from LaFriniere's residence on Airport Road during the time witnesses testified she had left the Pampered Chef party at her home. Wood, now 56, worked as a Pampered Chef representative and was active in the Chamber of Commerce when she lived in Thompson Falls.

Attorneys for Wood did not wish to comment after the trial was over. After the verdict was read, Guzynski stood before the court to note that one of the witnesses had received a message with "aggressive and malicious intent" from Wood's son and that it was being investigated. Judge Deborah "Kim" Christopher noted that both the victim's and defendant's family were a part of the community and that any decision would bring some reaction.

Judge Christopher set a sentencing date of March 2 for Wood.