Bonners Ferry Man Charged with Murder After Shooting Driver

ATHOL, Idaho (KLIX)-A Bonners Ferry man has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting the driver of the vehicle he was in causing a multi-vehicle crash near Athol.

According to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Victor Claus, 55, is behind bars on a murder charge for the alleged shooting of Melyssa Schloe, 45, of Sandpoint. The sheriff's office said on April 13, Claus was a passenger in the pickup Schloe was driving on U.S. Highway 95 when he allegedly shot her, causing her to loose control of the pickup, hitting a motorcycle and another vehicle. The motorcyclist was not injured and the person driving the other vehicle was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Schloe was found dead at the scene.

Claus was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries and later released and taken to the Kootenai County Jail on a warrant for murder.