Plea deal pondered in murder case

SANDPOINT — A plea agreement could be reached in the first-degree murder and felony theft case pending against Tyrah Brea Brown.

“We’re really close to one,” defense attorney Serra Woods said on Thursday. Woods declined to elaborate on the terms of the possible resolution.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Louis Marshall expressed a degree of optimism last month during Brown’s pretrial hearing, when both sides agreed to put off her trial. The trial was set to start this month in 1st District Court.

The purpose of the postponement was twofold — to provide time for plea negotiations, and if those break down, situate the trial so it occurs after that of her husband and alleged accomplice, Keith Allen Brown. His trial is planned for December.

“We’re hopeful to have a resolution in this matter long before December, or March for that matter. But, obviously, that can’t be guaranteed,” Marshall said during the July 28 pretrial hearing.

Tyrah Brown, 25, and Keith Brown, 47, are charged in the shooting death of Leslie Carlton Breaw in January 2007. Breaw’s remains were discovered covered by brush near his home in Coolin several months later.

Breaw, 48, was shot in the face with a .22-caliber rifle, according to court documents.

The Browns were apprehended in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., the day after Breaw’s body was found. Authorities believe the couple fled the area immediately following Breaw’s slaying, taking with them a $56,000 escrow check belonging to the dead man.

Both suspects remain jailed. Tyrah Brown allegedly admitted to shooting Breaw while being questioned in Florida, although Keith Brown has insisted his wife falsely confessed in order to protect him.

Keith Brown has maintained that Breaw was shot in a struggle over the weapon during a confrontation involving allegations that Breaw had sexually assaulted Tyrah Brown. He further alleges Breaw was the aggressor in the deadly confrontation.

Tyrah Brown has indicated in correspondence to the court that a plea agreement was discussed in her husband’s case. But that ship appears to have sailed.

“His case will proceed to trial,” Marshall told Judge John Patrick Luster during the pretrial.

During that hearing, Tyrah Brown accused her husband’s defense team of falsely stating she will testify against him. She emphasized that she has no such intention.

“I’m not testifying against my husband,” she said. “There’s absolutely nothing for me to testify against.”