Meade murder trial moved to 2026
Trial postponed a year; mediation scheduled for April
The trial for Skylar W. Meade has been moved to January 2026.
The six-week trial was originally scheduled to begin Feb. 3, but was rescheduled to Jan. 26, 2026, at a hearing Friday with 2nd District Judge Michelle Evans at the Nez Perce County Courthouse.
Meade, 32, and Nicholas D. Umphenour, 29, were both indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder in the death of 83-year-old James Mauney, of Juliaetta, after the two planned a prison break in Boise in March. Both face the death penalty.
Meade’s public defender Anne Taylor, Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman and Evans scheduled various hearings, court filings and deadlines up to the date of the trial.
Taylor noted that she was going to be in a trial from July to November in Boise. Taylor is the public defender for Bryan Kohberger, who is facing the death penalty for the murder of four University of Idaho students. The Kohberger trial impacted some of the scheduling and deadlines for Meade’s case but Taylor said she would be able to work on Meade’s case during the Kohberger trial.
Taylor also noted there was a mediation scheduled in April for the Meade case as well as an alternate mediator if it was needed. Mediation is where a judge not associated with the case meets with attorneys and the defendant to come to a resolution to avoid trial. Most of the court dates and deadlines were scheduled after the mediation, including a hearing on the death penalty, in case mediation wasn’t successful.
Attorneys and the judge also discussed plans for jury questionnaires and instructions. Evans set deadlines for getting those documents to be ready in November and December to allow enough time to review those before the trial. She said they can decide later whether to have potential jurors fill out the questionnaire or to come into the courthouse and fill it out.
Evans also said that when the trial gets closer they can discuss the schedule, such as having days go from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help attorneys prepare for the next day.
Evans scheduled the final pretrial conference hearing Jan. 9.
Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.
