Daughter of suspect in killing says she heard victim’s screams, pleas

ST. MARIES – The 15-year-old daughter of a man charged with first-degree murder testified that she heard the victim’s screams and that the 76-year-old woman asked her for help.

Following that and other testimony, Magistrate Judge Patrick McFadden on Monday said he found enough evidence for a trial and ordered an arraignment in June for Lawrence Ernest Banderob in 1st District Court. Banderob could face the death penalty if convicted.

Banderob, 37, is charged with killing Miriam “Micky” Waltch during an attack the night of Feb. 4 or early the next morning after his car got stuck in the mud. He is also charged with first-degree arson.

The girl testified that her father appeared to be drunk as he drove home from a bar and their maroon Chevrolet Corsica became stuck in the mud. She said they walked to a nearby home where her father stole a pickup and unsuccessfully attempted to push their car out of the mud.

The girl said they then went to another home to steal another vehicle but when Banderob discovered the keys were not in the ignition he said “he was going to go beat the (expletive) out of someone.”

The girl testified that her father told her he loved her and to stay outside as he went into Waltch’s home. She said she heard Waltch screaming, then a half hour of silence.

“It seemed like forever,” she said.

She said when her father came out to check on her he had a knife in his hand and was covered in blood. She said her father told her to go inside and sent her to the bathroom, where she could hear Waltch’s pleas.

“The lady was asking me for help,” the girl said.

Once at home a short time later, the girl testified that her father told her stepmother, Becky Banderob, what he had done. But the girl said her stepmother didn’t believe the story until she saw Waltch’s car in their yard.

She said her stepmother tried to call her mother but Larry Banderob slammed down the phone. The girl testified that she was then sent to bed.

Officials say that Larry and Becky Banderob then returned to Waltch’s home where Waltch, who had been bound with electronic cables, was in the computer room using her body to brace the door closed.

Authorities say Larry Banderob fired two shots from a .22-caliber rifle through the door, hitting Waltch in the right leg with one round and killing her with another shot that hit her in the back of the head.

Banderob’s daughter testified that the next day the three burned Waltch’s abandoned car.

Authorities said gasoline was spread in Waltch’s home around the living room and to the computer room, but neighbors put the fire out with garden hoses before firefighters arrived.

Last month Becky Banderob was charged with being an accessory to the murder. She maintains her husband abused her and forced her to help him cover up the killing.