Dante sentenced in murder case

BONNERS FERRY — On Dec. 6, Eric Allen Dante was sentenced by First District Judge Barbara Buchanan for the May 1, 2017, murder of Jesseka Musson, 38 at the time of death. Dante received a 20-year sentence, with 10 years determinant and 10 years indeterminate, with credit for 555 days served.

Dante had been set for a jury trial on Dec. 11, but was offered a second Rule 11 plea deal, after the first was rejected in March. Buchanan explained that the first plea deal was not accepted, in part by “a number of letters that the court received.”

The letters were part of a letter writing campaign organized by Musson’s family and supporters prior to the March 8 sentencing where Dante was being offered a five year fixed sentence.

On May 1, Boundary County Sheriff Dave Kramer had found Dante, then 36, on his knees in the middle of a driveway with his hands behind his back. Dante told Kramer there had been a homicide. He indicated to the house at 22 Cedar Court, telling Kramer that his fiancée, Musson, was dead from a knife wound.

Musson was found by Boundary County Sheriff’s Detective David McClelland, along with Bonners Ferry Police officers, leaning over the foot of a bed, with her head and the surrounding area covered in blood, and a knife lying next to her.

Dante told McClelland, while handcuffed in the patrol vehicle, that he killed Musson in self defense, claiming she threatened his family with the Hells Angels. On further investigation, the cause of death was found to be a gunshot wound to Musson’s head.

The first people to come forward in court and read statements were Musson’s sisters, Shauna Kennedy-Carr and Amanda Frazer. Kennedy-Carr also read a letter from their mother, who was unable to attend due to an injury.

Kennedy-Carr faced Dante in the courtroom, reading the letter that she wrote, explaining that she wanted to be the voice of Jesseka. Through tears, she talked about Musson, how she had first inspired her to want to be a mom.

Kennedy-Carr then read a letter from her mother, Judy Gulliege, who wrote in her statement, that on May 1, Dante may have taken her life from her.

“Eric has to live with what he did,” Kennedy-Carr read from the letter.

Next to face Dante was an emotional sister Amanda Frazer. She told Dante that he had taken Musson from the world.

“You made a decision not to walk away,” she told Dante.

Toward the end of her statement, Frazer looked directly at Dante and told him, ”You don’t get to affect my life for one millisecond longer.”

Dante nodded slowly back at her.

At the end of her statement, Frazer said, “Will I ever forgive you? I doubt I will even try.”

Next to testify was Jacqueline Finnigan, Dante’s caretaker and friend, who spoke in support of the defense. She brought a different perspective, saying that she witnessed Musson be “physically and mentally abusive” to Dante, saying that she was getting more and more aggressive.

“All Eric wanted was to be happy and have a family,” Finnigan explained.

When she was finished, Boundary County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tevis Hull spoke for some time, discussing the details of the case.

“It doesn’t sound like an act of self defense. It sounds like an act of aggression,” he told the courtroom.

Hull explained how Musson was shot in her chin and that it had exploded her jaw. He demonstrated how Musson was found, with arms clutched in front of her, hands folded under her neck and chin, leaning face down over the bed.

Hull addressed Musson’s family and said, “There is nothing I can say, the court can say, the defendant can say, that will bring your sister back.”

Hull then briefly spoke about the 1998 case, where Dante was granted immunity in exchange for information regarding the disappearance and death of 19-year old Ty Hartman, a Boundary County resident, where Dante and two other minors led law enforcement to the burned remains of Hartman, admitting that he had died and that some of them had burned the body.

According to reports, the teenagers told authorities where the body was after they were granted some measure of immunity. The teens were able to dodge misdemeanor charges that included obstructing an officer, false reporting, and burial without a permit, by agreeing to cooperate. The question remained as to whether or not Hartman had died of a drug overdose and was then taken to the area where his remains were burned and dumped.

“We don’t know what exactly his involvement was with that,” Hull told the courtroom.

He also spoke about multiple drug charges that Dante faced in California, while Musson only had two misdemeanors.

Defense attorney John Walsh then spoke to the court. He stated that the toxicology reports only found medications that were prescribed by a doctor in Dante’s system, while Musson did have methamphetamines in her system. He talked about Dante having a long history of depression and anxiety, as well as pain from a former accident.

Walsh also talked about Dante asking to be taken off a medication and that the rapid de-escalation of that medication most likely caused cognitive and psychological problems. He spoke about Dante feeling threatened by Musson who claimed to have ties with a biker gang.

“He is a person who is filled for regret for what he did,” said Walsh.

An emotional Dante broke down when given the opportunity to address Musson’s family prior to his sentencing. “I would like to tell Jesseka’s family, I would switch places with her in a second.” Dante then broke down and Buchanan asked if he needed a moment or if he was done. “I’m done, your honor,” he said.

In an interview after the court was dismissed, Dante’s caretaker Finnigan said, “Things aren’t always what people think. It isn’t always the bad guy that pulled the trigger. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, like being jerked off your medicine and changing like night and day, and somebody abusing you physically and mentally.”

For Musson’s family, the situation appears very different.

“This has been an emotional year and a half,” said Kennedy-Carr in an interview after the sentencing. “Although 10 years fixed and a 10-year indeterminate sentence is better than five years, it still just doesn’t make sense that you can take a life in such a brutal way and potentially only serve 10 years before getting out on parole.”

Buchanan said that the killing was willful, but not premeditated. “The facts do not support a domestic violence killing,” said Buchanan.

At the conclusion of the sentencing, Buchanan said that very few things were clear and stated that it could be very difficult for the public to understand how the court came to the decision that it did. She called it “a senseless and horrible tragedy.”

“At least there is a resolution today and some semblance of closure,” said Buchanan.