Bryan Kohberger’s attorney tapped now to lead defense for Idaho white supremacist who staged deadly prison escape

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The top attorney representing Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger has now been tapped to defend a white supremacist who will stand trial for allegedly killing a man during a 36-hour escape from prison earlier this year.

Anne Taylor was assigned Wednesday to the high-profile North Idaho capital murder case of Skylar Meade, according to the Idaho Statesman.

Meade, 32, is charged with killing a man in Nez Perce County after escaping from corrections officials at a Boise hospital in March. He is set to be arraigned at the Nez Perce County Courthouse on Thursday.

Like Kohberger, Meade faces the death penalty if found guilty. Kohberger’s murder trial is scheduled to start in June 2025.

Taylor has been on Kohberger’s case since December 2022, after he was arrested for the November 2022 slayings of University of Idaho students, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

Now, Taylor will be tasked with juggling two high-profile capital murder cases as she is only one of 13 public defenders in the state approved by the Idaho Public Defense Commission to work as the lead in a death penalty case.

She will be defending Meade who made his escape in March. The inmate was serving a 10-year prison sentence at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution when prosecutors say he faked an injury and was taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

His alleged co-conspirator Nicholas Umphenour is accused of shooting three corrections officers while Meade was being loaded into the prison van outside of the hospital, according to law enforcement testimony.

The officers survived but Meade and Umphenour escaped and drove for six hours where they allegedly attempted to rob 83-year-old James Mauney north of Lewiston while he was walking his dogs, according to Idaho State Police.

Mauney was found dead and Meade is accused of shooting him in the head.

Prosecutors in Nez Perce County seeking the death penalty alleged that Meade had “utter disregard” for human life and has “exhibited a propensity to commit murder.”

Meade is also a suspect in a Clearwater County killing where 72-year-old Gerald “Don” Henderson, 72, was found dead in his cabin outside of Orofino, Idaho. Shackles belonging to Meade were found in the cabin.

Police say the men left north-central Idaho not long after, heading to the southern half of the state. They were arrested in Twin Falls roughly 36 hours after the hospital attack.

Police described both men as white supremacist gang members who had been incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, at times housed in the same unit.

Both Meade and Umphenour have links to the white supremacist gang Aryan Knights.

Meade has two face tattoos, including the numbers 1 and 11, which are thought to represent A and K, the first and 11th letters of the alphabet, which supposedly stands for Aryan Knights.

At the time of the escape, Meade was serving a 20-year sentence for shooting at a sheriff’s sergeant during a high-speed chase. Umphenour was released in January after serving time on charges of grand theft and unlawful possession of a weapon.

While Meade and Umphenour have been indicted and charged in Mauney’s death, no one has been charged in Henderson’s death, which Idaho State Police say is still under investigation.

In July, Meade, who pleaded guilty to five charges, three of which were related to the escape, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years.

Umphenour still faces charges in Ada County. His trial is scheduled for October.