Convicted killer appeals sentence

SANDPOINT — A Priest River man ordered imprisoned for the rest of his life without parole after killing his wife and their unborn daughter is appealing his sentence to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Jeremy Keith Swanson’s defense counsel filed a notice of appeal in 1st District Court on Nov. 20. His court-appointed state appellate public defender is expected to argue Swanson’s sentence was excessive, court records show.

Judge Benjamin Simpson imposed the sentence last September, after Swanson pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree murder in connection with the 2012 attack.

Jennifer Bosch Swanson, 27, was repeatedly stabbed with a knife and ice pick as she lay in bed. The attack also claimed the life of the couple’s unborn daughter.

Jeremy Swanson, 28, was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, but the count involving the fetus his wife was carrying was reduced to murder in the second degree as part of a plea deal to resolve the case.

Swanson declined allocution twice during the proceedings, although doctors who evaluated the him prior to sentencing have stated that Swanson was unable to explain what drove him to commit the attack and described being in an out-of-body state. He was diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder with psychotic features and generalized anxiety.

Swanson sought post-sentencing leniency that would have qualified him for parole after serving 20 years in prison.

Bonner County Public Defender Janet Whitney argued her client could be rehabilitated with pastoral counseling and psychotherapy. Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected, noting that Swanson was show lenience when the death penalty was taken off the table.

Simpson declined on Nov. 12 to modify Swanson’s sentence because rehabilitation was not guaranteed and a lesser sentence would fail to reflect the heinous nature of the crimes.