Man pleads guilty to murdering mother

SANDPOINT — Gerald Eric Eggert, 57, pled guilty Monday to second-degree murder in connection to the fatal strangling of his mother at a Sandpoint hotel in late September.

Eggert is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023.

Eggert was arrested after police were called to the Best Western Edgewater Hotel in downtown Sandpoint in connection to a reported suspicious death. There, police found Mavis Eggert, 86, who was visiting the area with her son from Arizona, deceased in her hotel room.

The pair had been staying at the hotel for several days. A family friend was with the Eggerts until about 2 p.m. Wednesday. However, the friend was called about 6 p.m. by Gerald Eggert in what was described in the affidavit as a frantic phone call.

A few hours after leaving, the friend called the police saying Gerald Eggert had just called him, frantic, and said he thought he may have strangled his mother. Police responded to the hotel, deemed Mavis Eggert’s death to be suspicious and began collecting evidence, according to court documents.

In his examination, Bonner County Coroner Robert Beers said in court records that the victim had injuries consistent with strangulation.

Sandpoint Police officer Michael Aerni said in the affidavit that Gerald Eggert had several injuries that appeared to be defensive wounds. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of the injuries, which included wounds to both eyes, his right cheek, and the right side of his neck.

Citing the defensive wounds and the friend who received Eggert’s phone call, Aerni took Eggert into custody.

According to the affidavit, the woman had been trying to help her son quit a long-term drug addiction.

Second-degree murder in Idaho carries a minimum sentence of 10 year to life imprisonment.