Judge orders mental health exam for Steele

COEUR d’ALENE — A federal judge has ordered that Edgar J. Steele’s mental health be examined prior to his trial.

Steele, 65, a North Idaho attorney, has given notice he intends during his trial starting April 26 in Boise to introduce expert evidence relating to a mental condition he suffers from.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered last week that Steele be transported to Boise for an examination on Friday by Dr. Robert Engle, a licensed psychologist.

Engle then will report on Steele’s physical well-being, psychological functioning and mental health, both now and at the time he was accused of hiring a hitman to kill his longtime wife, Cyndi Steele.

A written report from Engle must be submitted by April 13, a date previously set by the court as a deadline for the disclosure of government expert reports.

Steele, through his attorneys, filed a non-objection to the mental health examination.

Winmill ordered that the exam be completed at the Ada County jail.

In addition to being charged with murder-for-hire, Steele is charged with the use of explosive materials to commit a federal felony, possession of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence, and tampering with a victim.

He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

The alleged hitman turned government informant in the case, Larry Fairfax, is scheduled to be sentenced May 13.

Fairfax pleaded guilty to two firearms charges for making and possessing a pipe bomb that he admits he fastened underneath Cyndi Steele’s vehicle last year.