Wood murder trial: Attorneys make closing arguments; jurors deliberate

A jury of eight women and four men began deliberating early Thursday afternoon the fate of a Polson woman accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend in 2018 during an ongoing custody dispute involving their daughter.

Danielle Jeanette Wood, 56, is charged with one count of deliberate homicide in the death of Matt LaFriniere, 50, of Thompson Falls, on May 2, 2018.

District Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher cleared the courtroom at about noon Thursday so the group could deliberate in it instead of the jury room while observing social-distance protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury liberated all day Thursday, ending at 5 p.m. and will resume their duties Friday morning.

State prosecutor Dan Guzynski spoke for more than 90 minutes while he argued in favor of conviction of Wood.

“No one had the right to take Matt LaFriniere’s life. His life was sacred,” Guzynski said. “We know this community loved him. We know Matt put his [daughter] first and he worked to keep her safe from a mother addicted to alcohol.”

Court documents showed LaFriniere first petitioned for a parenting plan in Sanders County in August 2010 when his daughter was 16 months old.

A court order said the girl would live with him, and Wood had to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice a week. Court records also indicated Wood was still dealing with alcohol problems late in 2017.

“She (Wood) tried to conquer her addiction, but she couldn’t quite do it,” Guzynski said. “In this case, we have point after point, fact after fact that points to Danielle Wood.”

Guzynski walked jurors through a timeline he said indicated Wood either pulled the trigger or that she should be held accountable for the conduct of another, despite the fact no other person has been charged.

Guzynski concluded by asking, “What reason does Danielle have for leaving the Pampered Chef Party without [her daughter] than to kill Matt LaFriniere?”

But, for defense attorneys Keenan Gallagher and Greg Rapkoch, the case delivered by the state never came close to proving Wood guilty.

“The state didn’t find evidence they didn't look for,” Gallagher said. “They got tunnel vision because they felt the pressure to solve the case because Mr. LaFriniere had worked in the sheriff’s office and how community members felt about him.”

Gallagher said the timeline offered by the state doesn’t fit.

“The abrasions on Mr. LaFriniere’s face indicated he was moved, but when Danielle returned to the party, no one saw her with blood on her, she wasn’t sweating or smelling of gunpowder and she wasn’t upset or nervous,” Gallagher said.

“You may have to endure not having all the answers, but it’s not the defense’s job to prove anything,” Gallagher said. “We don’t know if Danielle’s son or boyfriend were involved, but the state could’ve and should’ve done more.

“A man’s life was lost; it demanded more testing,” Gallagher said.

Wood faces a maximum term of 100 years in the Montana State Women’s Prison.

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com or at 406-758-4441.