Two people were killed in New Plymouth in May 2022. An arrest was just made
More than three years after two people were killed inside a home in New Plymouth, Idaho State Police arrested a man they say is responsible.
After what was described as a lengthy multiagency investigation into the May 2022 homicides, Joshua Kirkman, 29, of Oregon, was taken into custody this month, according to an ISP news release Tuesday.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary, and is being held at the Payette County Detention Facility without bond, the release said.
On May 14, 2022, at 1:55 a.m., the Payette County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a shooting at 550 Ada Road in New Plymouth, according to a news release from that agency. Deputies and a special response team found Eric Ortega and Megan Amaya, both 45, dead with gunshot wounds inside the home.
After reviewing home surveillance footage, conducting DNA testing and interviewing several witnesses in 2022, police determined that Kirkman was a frequent visitor and had been there that night. However, it wasn’t until spring of 2025 that an arrest warrant was issued for the suspect.
Kirkman was in custody in Oregon on unrelated charges prior to being arrested in Idaho, ISP spokesperson Aaron Snell told the Idaho Statesman.
“These families have waited a long time for accountability in this case,” ISP District 3 Capt. Mike Winans said in the release. “This investigation required steady and detailed work that included tracking down evidence, reviewing video, and interviewing people with information about this case.”
Court documents reveal the events leading up to the incident
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in court, ISP Detective James Millar said the shooting was the result of a feud between Kirkman and Ortega. Millar said witnesses indicated that Kirkman actually had shot Ortega prior to the May 14 killings, and that Ortega tried to “retaliate” on a day prior to his and Amaya’s death.
The affidavit said home security footage revealed Kirkman’s presence at the house many times before the day of the killings. A witness told police that Ortega traveled to Ontario, Oregon, on May 13, 2022, to confront Kirkman about items that were stolen from his home, according to the affidavit.
Millar wrote that footage from the night of the killings showed a person walking toward the rear door of the residence carrying a pistol, and another person standing nearby with a shotgun, at about 11:41 p.m. A moment later, the person with the pistol ran toward the rear door of the home, kicked it open and entered. Shortly after, the same person exited.
Witnesses noted that a dark-colored Chrysler 300 was seen leaving the area “quickly” the night the two were shot, and had been seen driving slowly by the residence a few days prior, the affidavit said. And police said two witnesses indicated that Kirkman drove a blue Chrysler 300 he eventually painted black.
On May 21, 2022, Kirkman was stopped by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon while driving a red Dodge truck. Kirkman fled from police and crossed a canal, dropping a handgun, which police found and eventually had tested for DNA, according to the affidavit. Bullets and casings found at the scene of the shooting were a forensics match to that gun, police said.
The Idaho State Police release said that the investigation revealed others might have been involved in the killings of Ortega and Amaya, and additional arrests and charges are possible.
Kirkman will have his preliminary hearing in Payette County on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
