Denson had troubled history with ex-wives

COEUR d'ALENE — Kelly Pease wasn't the first woman to seek protection from Steven Denson, the man accused of killing the 37-year-old nursing student last week before ending his own life.

The 61-year-old's history of troubled relationships long preceded his short-lived engagement to Pease, found shot in the head in the Kootenai Health parking lot March 8.

Two ex-wives filed three protection orders against Denson in a six-year span, according to Idaho court records. Kathleen Denson filed in 2009 before his next wife, Robin Denson, filed in 2014 and 2015, all civil cases.

All three were approved for temporary protection, but both of Robin's were denied extensions. One was denied by a judge due to a lack of evidence. The other was dismissed because Denson couldn't be found to be served a notice of hearing.

The list of ex-wives and transgressions didn't stop there, according to an online search of Washington state court records.

According to those records, Denson was divorced three times from three different women in Washington — in 1983, 1989 and 1990 — and was served with at least one restraining order.

In 1989, Denson was convicted of felony burglary in Kittitas County and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

In December 2014, he was charged in Kootenai County for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charge was later dismissed because of an Idaho statute which doesn't factor certain felonies — in Denson's case, burglary — committed before 1990.

Denson's bond was set at $75,000 for that charge, a sizable gap from the $10,000 bond set for him earlier this year after he was accused of viciously assaulting Pease, a mother of five.

On Jan. 23, Denson allegedly held Pease down by her throat, ripped her pants off and proceeded to assault her.

"Steven pushed Kelly down on to a chair and began repeatedly and violently thrusting down on her stomach with his fist," according to a police report.

Pease had marks on her wrist, chest, stomach and neck, the report said. Denson was charged with attempted strangulation, domestic battery, petit theft and malicious injury to property for the incident.

Prosecutors sought a $50,000 bond, according to court transcripts, but Judge Anna Eckhart signed off on $10,000 bond and issued a no-contact order.

Less than two weeks later, Denson broke the contact order by texting Pease with his landlord's phone and was sent to jail for the misdemeanor violation. Judge James Stow set the bond at $2,500, according to court transcripts. Prosecutors recommended $5,000.

A month later, Denson allegedly shot and killed Pease in a car parked outside the hospital, where she was doing course-related work to earn her nursing degree. The next day, Denson, wanted for first-degree murder, shot himself in his car while being pursued by a Kootenai County sheriff's deputy.

In the month between the no-contact order violation and the death of Pease, Denson became seemingly obsessed with the January breakup.

In that span, his Facebook page had more than 50 posts that appeared to reference the relationship, noting things such as his broken heart and second chances. Nine were posted March 4, four days before Pease’s death.