Accused killer says driver shot herself

ATHOL — The Bonners Ferry man accused of shooting his girlfriend in the head while she was driving, killing her, remains in jail on a $1 million bond.

Victor A. Claus, 55, is charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, Claus could face the death penalty.

Judge Anna Eckhart denied a request Friday to reduce Claus’s bond.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday to a report of a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 95, near Athol.

Melyssa L. Schloe, 45, was reportedly traveling northbound in a Toyota Tundra when she crossed the center line and sideswiped a motorcycle and another vehicle. Police said Claus was a passenger in Schloe’s vehicle.

Before the crash, another motorist called 911 to report a possible “rolling” domestic dispute between Claus and Schloe, according to police reports.

The impact of the crash caused the second vehicle to roll twice, injuring the driver, 64-year-old Colleen K. Watkins of Hayden. Watkins was transported to Kootenai Health with non-life threatening injuries, as was Claus.

Schloe was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said she had a gunshot wound to the head.

Claus reportedly told witnesses at the scene that Schloe shot herself.

Witnesses said they heard Claus repeatedly say to Schloe, “Wake up, b—.”

Though Schloe lived in Garden Grove, Calif., she regularly traveled to Idaho to stay with family in Sandpoint.

She and Claus had been dating for less than a month after meeting online, police said.

Claus was reportedly in the process of divorcing another woman. He told police he and Schloe were arguing about his divorce when she grabbed his handgun off the dashboard, where he said he always kept it, and shot herself.

He also told police he had been drinking “all day.”

An autopsy reportedly indicated that the barrel of the gun was at least 18 inches away from Schloe’s head when it fired.

Police said multiple tests performed using a similar handgun showed that it was “nearly physically impossible … to replicate the same injury by self-infliction.”

Police obtained a warrant for Claus’s arrest and took him into custody Thursday, after he was released from the hospital.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris encouraged anyone who saw the Toyota Tundra while it was traveling northbound to contact the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, 208-446-1300.