Prison ordered in attack on Bonner County woman

SANDPOINT — A boarding school runaway who participated in a ferocious attack on a Bonner County woman last year was given a 10-year prison sentence on Friday.

First District Judge Steve Verby, however, retained jurisdiction over Marshall Owens Dittrich due to his comparatively limited role in the attack and lack of prior criminal history.

When a court retains jurisdiction over a defendant, they are imprisoned in a medium-security state prison for up to a year. The sentencing judge then determines whether the defendant should be released on probation or made to serve the full sentence.

Dittrich apologized to the victim, Vera Gadman, and admitted that the attack in a remote area on the Hope peninsula was “gruesome.”

“You did not deserve to have such a horrible thing done to you,” Dittrich said, adding that he hoped to one day be forgiven and that Gadman would not be haunted by the episode for the rest of her life.

Dittrich and Joseph John Martin were hitchhiking on Highway 200 when Gadman encountered them and offered to give them a lift last summer. Both were runaways from Explorations, a therapeutic boarding school in Trout Creek, Mont.

Gadman, who was 66 at the time, was attacked as she sat in the front seat of her vehicle. Martin, who was seated behind Gadman, used his forearm to choke her into unconsciousness. Gadman regained consciousness to find a ligature around her neck.

Martin also allegedly hit Gadman over the head six times, causing the container to shatter.

Gadman managed to escape the vehicle, but was assailed with rocks by both suspects. Martin and Dittrich fled and were later apprehended following a brief manhunt.

Both suspects were 17, but prosecuted as adults for battery within intent to commit robbery. Both entered guilty pleas and the court ultimately determined that Dittrich and Martin should be incarcerated in an adult setting rather than a juvenile one.

Verby ordered Martin, of Denver, in June to serve up to 15 years in prison for his role in the attack. He will be eligible for parole in about three years.

Dittrich, of Danville, Calif., portrayed himself to sheriff’s investigators as a half-hearted participant in the attack and Martin as the primary aggressor.

Gadman, however, contended that Dittrich coerced Martin into initiating the blitz.

“I believe he’s dangerous and manipulative,” said Gadman, who also believes both suspects meant to kill her.

During Dittrich’s five-hour sentencing hearing a procession of family and friends took the stand to testify to their utter bafflement that Dittrich was involved in such a heinous crime.

Although Dittrich’s formative years were marred by the suicide of his father and his loss of parental rights because of neglect and drug abuse, he was adopted at age five by Thomas and Mary Beth Dittrich, who provided a upper middle class life and attention to his needs.

Dittrich’s parents said their son was a former Boy Scout and altar server who struggled academically and socially, but was he compassionate and never violent.

“I don’t have a clue where that came from given the background I know,” Thomas Dittrich said, referring to the violence Gadman was subjected to.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall recommended a 10-year prison term due to the prolonged nature of the attack, evidence of planning in a journal kept by Dittrich and his unwillingness to stop the attack once it began.

“This was a prolonged, ferocious attack by Joe Martin and he watched,” said Marshall.

Dittrich’s defense counsel, Michael G. Palmer, argued his client panicked when Martin initiated the attack and was paralyzed by indecision as it unfolded.

“This is an alien sort of thing to him,” said Palmer, noting that Dittrich had never even been in a fist fight before and was not a bully.

Palmer recommended retained jurisdiction if adult incarceration was ordered.

Verby called the attack a “tragedy of epic proportions,” but concluded that Martin played a more substantial role.

Although Dittrich’s lack of a prior criminal record or significant substance abuse history worked in his favor at sentencing, Verby ruled that the likely lasting impact on Gadman and evidence of planning the crime weighed heavily against him.

“Those are significantly aggravating factors,” Verby said.