Change of plea in Hope slaying

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman awaiting trial for allegedly bludgeoning her boyfriend to death last fall is changing her plea, court records indicate.

Linda Carol Provo-Buxton pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the death of Jeffery Newton on Oct. 15, 2016. She entered the plea in January, setting the stage for a four-day jury trial in April.

However, a change of plea hearing in Provo’s case is set for today.

Provo-Buxton, 54, is accused of killing Newton at their home on West Spring Creek Road in Cabinet Mountains near Hope. The slaying was not premeditated, although there was malice aforethought, a criminal complaint alleges.

Newton, 57, died of blunt trauma force to the head, according to court documents. He was found partially lying on a couch with an unzipped sleeping bag over his body, sheriff’s detectives testified at a preliminary hearing last December.

Provo-Buxton’s daughter told the court during the hearing that her mother had been on the receiving end of Newton’s mental and physical abuse for the duration of their 17-year relationship. At the time he was slain, Newton was awaiting trial on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge and Provo-Buxton was the protected party in a court’s no-contact order, court records show.

Working against a claim of self-defense, however, is investigators’ testimony that they found no evidence in the trailer that Provo-Buxton and Newton had struggled physically prior to the killing.

It’s unclear if the murder weapon was recovered when their home was searched. Detectives testified that they seized numerous items from the home as evidence, although it was initially unclear if any of them were used to inflict the mortal wound.

Provo-Buxton is being held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.