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Idaho man pleads not guilty in 2019 Bonner County killing of Rae Berwanger

Jordan Law, 46, sits in the Bonner County Jail Thursday for his arraignment via Zoom. He is charged in the 2019 murder of Bonner County woman Rae Berwanger. (Alexandra Duggan / The Spokesman-Review)
By Alexandra Duggan alexandrad@spokesman.com(509) 459-5469

SANDPOINT - A Bonner County, Idaho, man pleaded not guilty Thursday in connection to the 2019 disappearance and killing of one woman and the sexual assault of another.

Jordan Law, 46, appeared in a red-striped jumpsuit via Zoom from the local jail in front of First Judicial District Judge Susie Jensen. Jensen warned him he could face up to life in prison for the killing of his former girlfriend and roommate, 54-year-old Rae Allison Berwanger. 

“I do think there’s going to be some motions to sever these charges,” Law’s defense attorney Catherine Enright said during court.

Berwanger was reported missing by a close friend in 2019, according to a Bonner County Sheriff’s Office news release. Law was spotted using her bank card in the days after her disappearance to withdraw $1,200. Officials have not elaborated on whether her body was found.

Law was indicted by a grand jury last month on charges of second-degree murder, offering a false record and destruction of evidence related to Berwanger’s disappearance. According to the indictment, Law killed her between March 3 and March 5, 2019, and then destroyed evidence such as her bed and cell phone.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reported Berwanger was last seen by her brother in early March of that year at Law’s home, and that she may have intended to move to Washington after a falling out with Law. He told authorities he hadn’t seen Berwanger since selling her car, according to court documents, but he was seen driving the car when using her bank card.

He told investigators he believed Berwanger went to Florida to visit her son or to Alaska to meet up with someone on social media.

In 2021, Law also filed a false warranty deed claiming he was single, the indictment says.

In addition to the three charges related to Berwanger, he is charged with two counts of forcible rape of another woman in the summer of 2021. 

In Law’s arraignment Thursday, prosecutors indicated his trial is expected to last seven  to 10 days.