Neep facing involuntary manslaughter charge
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SANDPOINT — A Spokane man is in custody for a charge of adult abuse and a charge of involuntary manslaughter for events from 2017.
Documents detailing why Danny Harold Neep, 65, is a suspect in the case were sealed by First District Judge Barbara Buchanan on July 16, a grand jury handed down an indictment finding probable cause for the charges the same day. Neep was arrested three days later.
On Monday, Neep pleaded not guilty to the charges in front of First District Judge Barbara Buchanan.
In court documents filed on Feb. 16, the prosecuting attorney requested discovery material including a 2019 coroner’s inquest regarding the death of Mirissa Serrano. Serrano went missing in Bonner County in September 2017. The 27- year- old Montana woman’s remains were found a year later in September 2018 on the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille.
Other documentation requested by the prosecution include Serrano’s autopsy report, cell tower records, photographs, and many other documents.
Neep drew scrutiny because he was the last person to see her before she disappeared, according to Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank in 2019.
Neep, 62, met Serrano randomly while she was waiting tables in a Lolo, Mont., saloon. She agreed to return to Spokane with Neep despite only having just met him. That decision and other peculiar behavior indicated to Joe Serrano that his daughter was obviously in the throes of a mental breakdown when she encountered Neep.
Some of Serrano’s family members have taken to social media implicating Neep as the culprit of Serrano’s death.
The victim’s father, Joe Serrano, said Neep attempted to obtain documents that would enable him to be the beneficiary of his daughter’s disability benefits.
According to a jailhouse interview with the Spokesman-Review, Neep denied having any involvement in Serrano’s disappearance.
“I wouldn’t harm a hair on her head,” Neep told the Spokesman. “She is a nice, smart girl. When I get out [of jail], I am going to help find her. I have been sending leads to detectives.”
It is unclear what spurred the 2021 case against Neep, but it is clear that the investigation into Serrano’s death is not over. Neep is currently being held at the Bonner County Jail.
In addition to Neep’s not-guilty pleas entered this week, his public defense asked for a reduction in his $100,000 bond, a hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 22.
Neep has 12 previous cases in the Idaho court database including the previous case involving Serrano’s death. Other charges against Neep include, battery, intentional destruction of a communication line, unlawful possession or use of prescription drugs, possession of weapons as a convicted felon, and DUI.
