Polson murder suspect upset after estate left to victim, court docs say

A Polson man accused of shooting and killing a Ronan man appeared in District Court in Polson last week for an arraignment hearing. 

James Phillip Lawrence, 70, entered a plea of not guilty to felony deliberate homicide and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

According to court records, Lawrence shot and killed Edwin Loder, 67, sometime Aug. 30. A possible motive emerged because Loder was named the beneficiary of the Mendenhall estate, documents state. 

The case began when Lake County Undersheriff Ben Woods responded to a report of a missing person on Sept. 4. Blood was identified in an area east of Loder’s residence on Timberlane Road. At least five 9mm shell casings were located near the blood and a pair of bloody eyeglasses were located in a ditch nearby. 

Lake County search and rescue members began an immediate search of the area. The search party increased to include teams on horseback and foot, and the use of drones. The search ended around 11 p.m. that night. 

Investigators also searched the Loder residence and allegedly located a will that named Loder as the beneficiary of the Mendenhall estate, including 80 acres of land adjacent to the Loder property. Debra and James Lawrence were each bequeathed $5,000 from the estate.

The investigation that followed included analyzing data from Loder’s cellphone to determine when and where he may have been taken. That information, coupled with coinciding camera footage from area businesses and private property, helped investigators locate Loder and identify a possible suspect in his disappearance. 

That information pointed to the Arlee area. A red Chevy pickup was also identified in the footage and traced to Lawrence, according to documents. A detective with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant and executed it at Lawrence’s residence on Blue Jay Lane in Polson. Lawrence was taken into custody as a result. 

During questioning Lawrence allegedly admitted to killing Loder, saying in part “I’m toast anyways I guess, so, yeah I did it… I just got him.” 

When asked where he put Loder, he allegedly stated, “Up in the Jocko.” 

According to documents, Lawrence stated he shot Loder with his 9mm, but was unsure of how many times, or where he shot Loder. He also said he believed that Loder “walked into Mary Mendenhall’s death bed with a lawyer and tricked her into signing a will” that left the Lawrences $5,000 each, when Mary had implied or even promised she would leave the Lawrences with much more.” 

The charging documents indicate the Mendenhall estate is worth millions of dollars.

Lawrence went with detectives to the Jocko Canyon and showed them where he disposed of the body, documents state. Loder’s body was recovered about 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 6.

Judge Molly Owen set the case for trial March 3. Lawrence is being held in the Lake County Jail without bond.