Boundary County man charged with shooting wife, setting house on fire in 2020

A 57-year-old Boundary County man was charged earlier this month with the shooting death of his wife and subsequent house fire following two years of investigation, the sheriff’s office said Friday.

Shannon P. Dabbs, 57, was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree arson in early July.

Dabbs is accused of shooting his wife, Susan Marie Dabbs, on Sept. 22, 2020.

According to court documents, Dabbs is accused of shooting his wife multiple times in the head and chest before setting fire to the cabin with a Moyie Springs address where the shooting occurred, 6998 Perkins Lake Road, about a mile west of the Montana border.

Dabbs remained in the Boundary County Jail on Friday on a $1 million bond.

An arrest warrant for Dabbs was issued on July 7 and he made his first appearance on Aug. 1.

Investigators with the Idaho State Police and Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Idaho State Fire Marshall and Spokane division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms worked on the case for almost three years to get to the point of arresting Dabbs, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Details of the accusations against Dabbs were not available Friday because a prosecutor laid out the evidence to hold Dabbs orally before a judge rather than filing the typical written document.

A recording of the hearing was not immediately available.