Judge Will Allow Confession of Idaho Teen Accused of Killing Family

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A northern Idaho judge says a 15-year-old accused of killing his father and brother knew what he was doing when he confessed to police.

The Spokesman-Review reports that 1st District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson in an order on Wednesday denied a defense motion to suppress statements Eldon Gale Samuel III made to police. Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams asked evidence gathered against his client after he was placed in custody be suppressed because the interrogation was unlawful and produced involuntary statements.

Samuel is charged as an adult with shooting 46-year-old Eldon Samuel Jr. and shooting and stabbing 13-year-old Jonathan Samuel in March in Coeur d'Alene. He faces a second-degree murder charge in his father's death and first-degree murder in his brother's death.