Man sentenced for murder

COEUR d’ALENE — A man who broke into a home last year and shot a man to death will spend decades behind bars.

Francis D. Gunseor, 37, of Coeur d’Alene, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and aggravated battery, both felonies.

Judge Barbara Duggan sentenced Gunseor this week to 40 years in prison, with parole eligibility after 25 years.

The charges stem from February 2022, when Gunseor reportedly broke through a sliding glass door and entered a Post Falls home where he shot a woman twice, once in the abdomen and once in the leg. She survived those injuries.

Prosecutors said Gunseor knew the woman and the two were involved in a dispute over property.

Gunseor then moved farther into the home and shot 86-year-old Forrest Chapin five times. Chapin was asleep in bed at the time and subsequently died at the scene.

After the shootings, Gunseor fled and was soon located in his vehicle by Coeur d’Alene police.

Gunseor shot himself in the head before he could be taken into custody and was transported to Kootenai Health.

At the time of the shootings, Gunseor was on parole for a 2014 aggravated assault, in which he reportedly tried to use a gun to steal illegal drugs from two men who had planned to sell him the drugs. Gunseor had 18 prior misdemeanor convictions for various offenses.

Court documents indicate that Gunseor lives with severe mental illness and substance abuse problems.

Prosecutors requested a life sentence with parole eligibility after 30 years.

“The court needs to protect society from future violent crimes,” said prosecuting attorney Katie Murdock.

Duggan said the 40-year sentence was necessary for the community’s safety.

“It was a brutal act,” she told Gunseor before handing down the sentence. “You shot (Chapin) five times while he laid in bed. You forced your way into his home. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home. You denied them that.”