Ernst enters not guilty plea in murder case

POLSON — A man facing a felony charge in connection with the 2005 murder of Harold Mitchell appeared in Lake County District Court last Wednesday.

Nigel Ernst, 30, entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of deliberate homicide, a felony, in Judge C.B. McNeil’s courtroom last week. Ernst remains in custody and will have an omnibus hearing on Oct. 6.

Ernst was the fourth suspect arrested in connection with the July 2005 murder of Harold Mitchell, 73, of St. Ignatius. In Aug., Kyle Brown, 36, another suspect in the murder, was picked up at a federal prison in Oregon.

First to be arrested in connection with the case was Nathan Aaron Ross, 21, who was transferred to Lake County Jail on March 29. Ross pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence at an arraignment on April 14.

Also in custody and charged with deliberate homicide is 24-year-old Clifford Oldhorn, who provided the first major lead for the LCSO. Oldhorn pleaded not guilty to the felony charge on May 5.

According to a criminal affidavit related to the case, Oldhorn wrote a letter to LCSO Undersheriff Jay Doyle in April 2008 saying that he was a witness to the homicide of Mitchell, and that he was willing to give a statement about the incident. Both Doyle and Lt. Mike Sargeant, who was undersheriff at the time of the crime, traveled to Great Falls, where Oldhorn was incarcerated on an unrelated conviction.

During the subsequent interview, Oldhorn said that he, Ross, Ernst and Brown traveled to St. Ignatius with the intent of robbing Mitchell. Once there, Oldhorn said Brown started beating Mitchell at his home to force him to reveal the location of the money they thought he had on hand. The scene apparently became too much for Oldhorn, who claimed he couldn’t bear to watch the beating, and exited the house. He said he stayed close to the residence and could hear Mitchell yelling inside.

As he waited outside, Oldhorn said Ross came out and grabbed a gas can from one of their vehicles and took it inside the house with him. A while later, the affidavit states, Ross and Ernst exited the residence and the two men and Oldhorn returned to Dixon in Ernst’s vehicle.

After the interview with Oldhorn, the two detectives interviewed Ross a few weeks later. Ross confirmed what Oldhorn had said, and added new details about the night from the perspective of someone inside the residence. The affidavit states that Ross said that after Mitchell was dead, Ernst told Ross to “clean up the scene.” Ross then said he went outside to retrieve the can of gas and brought it back inside the house, where a blood-covered Mitchell lay on the floor. Ross doused the body in gasoline before leaving for Dixon in Ernst’s vehicle.