Boise man pleads not guilty to trying to have 7-year-old he’s accused of abusing killed
The 60-year-old man accused of soliciting someone to have a 7-year-old child kidnapped and killed pleaded not guilty on Friday and remains in custody.
Byron Ely, of Boise, is being held on a $6 million bond at the Ada County Jail. Ely is accused of sexually abusing the 7-year-old and is charged on suspicion of lewd conduct with a child younger than age 16.
His trial for the child sex crime was set to begin on March 17 in Ada County, and Ely is accused of offering to pay someone to have the child and the child’s parents killed, in an effort to ensure he isn’t convicted.
According to prosecutors, the Boise Police Department received a tip from someone who said Ely solicited them for the killings. Ely allegedly offered that person two vehicles as payment.
A judge set Ely’s bond at $5 million for the solicitation to commit a crime charge and $1 million for the lewd conduct charge.
His next court appearance is set for 11 a.m. July 29. Ely’s trial on the lewd conduct charge has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Idaho Supreme Court has ordered courts to temporarily postpone assembling jury panels.
