Cocolalla murder trial nears

COCOLALLA — A Bonner County man's second-degree murder trial for shooting his son to death in 2018 is drawing closer.

The jury trial of James Michael Costello Sr. is scheduled to get underway in 1st District Court on Jan. 11, 2021. He is accused of killing his son inside a converted bus they used as their home in November 2018.

Costello Sr., 73, is being held at the Bonner County Jail, according to the Idaho Department of Correction's website. He is serving a sentence for felony eluding in Kootenai County, an incident which led to the discovery of his son's murder.

The elder Costello pleaded not guilty to the offense. He was scheduled to be tried this year, but the proceeding was pushed back due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and its attendant restrictions.

Shutdown orders in Washington state forced a delay in the completion of an expert witness's report, according to court documents. Sweeney is a forensic expert from Kirkland, Wash.

The Idaho Supreme Court ordered all civil and criminal trials to be placed on hold until Jan. 4, 2020, because of sharp increases in coronavirus positivity rates as evidenced by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.

"That data shows that the weekly moving average incidence rate of COVID-19 cases in the state has increased from Sept. 13, 2020, to Nov. 8, 2020, by 335 percent, with an average week-over-week increase of 21 percent," Chief Justice Roger Burdick said in the high court's Nov. 9 order.

Bonner County's jury commissioner put out a notice earlier this month that 700 names were randomly selected to potentially serve on a January 2021 jury panel.

It's unclear of the top bench's order will be extended beyond Jan. 4, 2021.

Costello Sr. was originally charged with first-degree murder because investigators determined he disabled a surveillance camera prior to the shooting, which occurred during an alcohol-fueled argument in which the younger Costello alternately threatening suicide and ordering his father to kill him, according to court documents. The younger Costello was also recorded threatening to kill his father.

A judge found there was insufficient evidence to sustain a charge of first-degree murder and ordered Costello to be tried at the second degree.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.