BONNER COUNTY, Idaho — Bonner County detectives hope recently obtained DNA samples will provide insight on a unsolved 2017 murder case.
The DNA comes from a murder suspect who was recently arrested in connection to a separate 2017 homicide that went unsolved for over two years. Both 2017 cases involved victims in their 70s being fatally shot in their rural Bonner County homes.
While currently unsolved, the Bonner County Sheriff's Office says detectives are still actively investigating the murder of Clark Fork resident George Andres. In December 2017, the 73-year-old was shot to death at his house on the outskirts of town. Investigators initially indicated that Andres may have interrupted a burglary at his property before being killed.
Neighbors of the veteran and former telephone lineman described Andres as keeping to himself, but also having a generous heart. "He used to go to the library. He tutored a few kids in town. He just wanted to make sure they knew how to read," said friend Evelyn Anderson to KREM in 2018.
Andres' death shared some similarities with another rural Bonner County homicide that shocked community members in nearby Hope earlier that same year.
In April 2017, Shirley Ramey, the former longtime city clerk in Hope, was fatally shot at her home up Trestle Creek Road. The 78-year-old's property, which was also in a rural area, is about 10 miles as the crow flies from Andres' home.
The Ramey homicide went cold for over two years before authorities arrested a Coeur d'Alene woman in connection with the killing this summer.
That suspect, Judith Carpenter, remains in the Bonner County jail on a murder charge. Carpenter was eventually linked to the Ramey scene by a federal gun database that analyzed bullet evidence found at Ramey's home and a pistol Carpenter was carrying during an unrelated road rage arrest the same day of the murder.
Detectives haven't identified a firm motive in Ramey's killing, but said that Carpenter stole a hunting rifle from the home following the shooting.
Authorities initially made comparisons between the Ramey and Andres cases, given the rural locations, ages, and shooting deaths.
Although Carpenter is now in custody, detectives are still following leads in the Andres murder and are trying to firmly determine if Carpenter had any involvement or not.
“We’re still looking into that. We haven’t ruled that out at all," said Bonner County sheriff's detective Phil Stella, who has investigated both the Ramey and Andres murders. Stella noted, however, that no evidence currently ties Carpenter to the Clark Fork scene.
“Right now, the connections are just the similarities in the crimes and the locations," said Stella. "Other than that, we have no physical evidence at the moment, or even circumstantial evidence, tying her to the Andres murder.”
Detectives have yet to formally interview Carpenter about either homicide. Stella said that he only briefly spoke with Carpenter on the day of her arrest in August before she requested an attorney.
Notably this week, however, authorities collected a DNA sample from Carpenter after serving her with a warrant in jail. Stella said that her DNA will now be compared with DNA and other evidence located at both the Ramey and Andres murder scenes.
Stella was hesitant to formally label Carpenter as a suspect in the Andres murder, but rather called her a person of interest for the time being.
“She’s definitely a person of interest. She’s definitely somebody that we want to eliminate," Stella explained. "That’s our ultimate goal. If we can eliminate her in any way, then that’s our goal.”
In 2018, following the one-year mark of the Ramey killing, Stella echoed in an interview to KREM that the sheriff's office hadn't given up on the investigation related to the killing of the former mother and city clerk.
The detective said he and his colleague's commitment to the Andres case remains the same as well.
“I’ve got no doubt that eventually we will get traction on George too," Stella said.
Carpenter, meanwhile, remains in the Bonner County jail on a bond of $1 million. A judge earlier this week granted a continuance in the case so that Carpenter could undergo a mental evaluation.