Caldwell 14-year-old arraigned for murder, won’t face death penalty

Did 14-year-old Zachary Neagle shoot his father in the head with a rifle while the man slept on his couch Saturday afternoon?

Details spelled out in a hearing Tuesday convinced a judge there was probable cause to arrest the boy on a charge of premeditated murder. The Idaho Statesman obtained a recording of the closed-door hearing, which was held shortly after a Caldwell detective interviewed Neagle.

“Zachary never said that he did it, but he never said he didn’t do it, and at one point he told (his) grandma, ‘I can’t say it again,” investigator Bill Crawford testified. “She said, ‘You need to tell why you did this,’ and he said, ‘I can’t say it.’

The 5-foot-4 Vallivue Middle School student is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of his father, Jason Neagle, 33. He is being held in the Canyon County Jail.

After the teen’s first court appearance Wednesday, Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak said the death penalty is off the table and further investigation of possible mitigating factors is needed before he decides what kind of a sentence to seek.

A close relative of the victim told investigators he suspected Jason Neagle sexually abused Zachary and that he had seen Neagle hit his son, Crawford said.

All of the relatives interviewed by police said Jason Neagle was “pretty heavy-handed” on Zachary. Crawford said the teen told him his father “hadn’t done anything to him in a while. ... but he wouldn’t tell me what he had done to him.”

Other details in Crawford’s testimony:

• Zachary Neagle called 911 from the house on Ustick Road shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, saying, “My dad’s been shot.” He initially told police he was in his room listening to music when he heard a shot.

• Evidence indicates the killer stood about 6 feet behind the couch and fired one round from a .30-.30 rifle at Jason Neagle. The bullet went through the victim’s wrist, into his head and out the other side of his head.

• The apparent murder weapon, with one spent cartridge and two live rounds, was found behind some boxes in the home’s garage.

• Interviews at Zachary’s school indicated the boy lacked friends, kept to himself and had been acting out. At one point, the school lodged a complaint that Zachary “got mad at a kid in gym class, and when everybody left the gymnasium he went in and peed in the kid’s locker.”

• Zachary’s mother is in a mental hospital and his maternal grandmother has custody of him.

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447