Idaho prison escape suspect, accomplice indicted for murder in death of Juliaetta man

A Nez Perce grand jury on Monday indicted two Boise men for murder in the March slaying of 83-year-old James Mauney after they fled a shootout with prison guards.

Skylar Meade, 32, and Nicholas Umphenour, 29, now face first-degree murder charges in Mauney’s death, according to Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Nick Woods.

They are being held without bond in Ada County, where police say they both planned a brazen prison escape that led to a shootout with law enforcement on March 20.

Mauney disappeared in the frenetic hours after the escape while walking his dogs. The escape led to a massive 36-hour manhunt as Meade, a member of a white supremacist prison gang called the Aryan Knights, and Umphenour, a man with a lengthy criminal record, sped north undetected from Boise that day.

Police said that on the day of Mauney’s disappearance, Meade and Umphenour took him and his dogs and drove them a few miles in Mauney’s 2019 Chrysler Pacific to a remote area of farm fields near the community of Leland.

Searchers found his body in the area.

“These indictments are the first step in the process of seeking justice for James Mauney. We have a long way to go to reach the conclusion we want and will continue to work diligently with law enforcement agencies throughout the State to ensure we have the strongest case possible to present at trial,” Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman said.

Mauney’s wife, Liliia Mauney, previously told The Spokesman-Review the alleged killers “took away my heart.”

“He was a good, good person,” she said about her husband.

The pair are also suspects in the killing of Gerald “Don” Henderson, whose body was found in his Orofino cabin. Henderson was an acquaintance of Umphenour.

Prior to the escape, Meade began cutting himself at the maximum security prison where he was being held. He was taken to Boise’s Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center under guard by corrections officers.

After he was treated, the officers were about to escort Meade back to prison when Umphenour ambushed them, shooting and injuring two of them from the ambulance bay of the hospital, according to investigators.

Meade and Umphenour then escaped in a gray Honda Civic. A third guard was shot at the hospital by responding police officers who mistook him as an armed suspect. The two were arrested almost two days later.

Umphenour faces additional charges of assault on law enforcement, helping an inmate escape from prison and two illegal firearms charges. Meade faces additional charges of illegal drug possession and a prison escape.

The pair will be transported from Boise back to Nez Perce County for their arraignment, according to a press release from the county prosecutor’s office.