Judge rejects man’s bid to withdraw pleas after conviction

MOSCOW, Idaho – A judge has denied a motion to withdraw pleas from a northern Idaho man convicted of killing three people.

The Lewiston Tribune reported Judge John R. Stegner on Tuesday rejected the motion from John Lee who claimed he was “psychologically coerced” into agreeing to a plea deal with Latah County prosecutors in 2016.

Lee is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in connection to the January 2015 deaths of his adoptive mother, 61-year-old Terri Grzebielski; his landlord, 71-year-old David Trail; and Moscow Arby’s manager 47-year-old Belinda Niebuhr.

Lee had entered Alford pleas to three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery.

Stegner in his ruling says that based on the evidence in the case, allowing Lee to withdraw his pleas would be an injustice.