Accused killer to stand trial next year

ATHOL — A Bonners Ferry man will stand trial for murder in April 2022, a little more than a year after he allegedly shot his girlfriend in the head while she was driving.

Victor A. Claus, 55, is being held on $1 million bond on the first-degree murder charge.

He pleaded not guilty in June.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded April 13 to a report of a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 95, near Athol.

Melyssa L. Schloe, 45, was reportedly traveling northbound in a Toyota Tundra when she crossed the center line and sideswiped a motorcycle and another vehicle. Police said Claus was a passenger in Schloe’s vehicle.

Before the crash, another motorist called 911 to report a possible “rolling” domestic dispute between Claus and Schloe.

The impact of the crash caused the second vehicle to roll twice, injuring the driver, who was transported to Kootenai Health with non-life threatening injuries.

Schloe was pronounced dead at the scene, while Claus was transported to the hospital.

A witness said he saw Claus cradle Schloe’s face, as if to kiss her, before he got out of the wrecked vehicle.

Claus then allegedly shook Schloe violently for several seconds and said, in a harsh voice, “Wake up, b—.”

Witnesses said Claus’s demeanor changed when first responders arrived. He reportedly covered his face with his hands and cried that Schloe had shot herself.

Though Schloe lived in Garden Grove, Calif., she regularly traveled to Idaho to stay with family in Sandpoint.

Her mother testified in a June hearing that Schloe’s state of mind was positive in the days before her death.

Schloe and Claus had been dating for less than a month after meeting online, police said.

Claus was reportedly in the process of divorcing another woman.

He told police he and Schloe were arguing about his divorce when she grabbed his handgun off the dashboard, where he said he always kept it, and shot herself.

In court, Claus’s estranged wife said he always kept his gun in the center console and never left it on the dash.

She also said Claus called her a week before the shooting and indicated that Schloe was eager for the divorce to move forward.

Dr. Jennifer Nara of the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Schloe died from a gunshot wound to the right side of her head.

Nara testified that she found no evidence on Schloe’s body of soot or stippling, a pattern of gunshot residue burned into the skin that results from close proximity to a discharged firearm.

Soot and stippling would be expected in the case of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said no gunpowder residue or blood spatter were found on Schloe’s hands, which was inconsistent with a close-range gunshot wound.

An autopsy reportedly indicated that the barrel of the gun was at least 18 inches away from Schloe’s head when it fired.

Police obtained a warrant for Claus’s arrest and took him into custody April 16, after he was released from the hospital.

Judge Cynthia Meyer signed an order this week denying a motion to reduce Claus’s bond from $1 million.

Claus’s attorney had requested that bond be set at $250,000.

In Idaho, any bail amount set at more than $500,000 requires a solitary confinement designation.

A jury trial in the case was previously set to begin Nov. 1, before the defense moved to push it back.

The two-week trial is now scheduled to begin April 25.