NEW MEADOWS, Idaho (CBS2) — John Cody Hart, held on charges of first-degree murder for killing Sara and Rory Mehen of New Meadows in Oct. 2022, pleaded guilty on Friday in 3rd District Court.
According to court records, Hart stayed at the Hartland Inn Hotel in New Meadows, owned by Sara and Rory. Hart said he was going through drawers in other rooms to find his children's socks.
Hart was then confronted by the Mehens, who said he could not go through other rooms. Hart told detectives in an interview after his arrest that this confrontation made him angry, and Rory Mehen was "the most angry Clyde that he had ever seen."
The Mehens contacted authorities, and a deputy was dispatched to the inn, where he spoke with Hart about the incident. Records indicate the deputy cleared the scene at 12:20 p.m.
Hart told investigators he returned to his room and prepared for the worst when he heard Pope Gregory and John Paul say, "Are you going to let Bonny and Clyde do that to our family?"
Hart then confessed to going to the front counter and shooting Rory and Sara Mehen before getting into his blue Subaru and driving onto Highway 95. The 911 call came in at 12:44 p.m., 24 minutes after the deputy had cleared the scene.
An off-duty Sheriff's Deputy followed the Blue Subaru reported to dispatch as the possible suspect's vehicle. Hart was pulled over and arrested.
As part of a plea agreement, the State will recommend life in prison without parole and withdraw its pursuit of the death penalty. Sentencing will be set for later this fall.
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