STAR, Idaho — First-degree murder charges have officially been filed against a 19-year-old whose roommate was found shot to death in a Star park last month.
Dakota Honeycutt could face up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted in the death of 48-year-old Kevin Hunt.
Hunt's body was discovered in Hunter's Creek Park the day after Christmas. Police quickly turned their attention to Honeycutt, who had been staying with Hunt at his Nampa apartment.
According to prosecutors, Honeycutt told law enforcement that he had driven the older man to the park, and watched as Hunt took his own life. Honeycutt said he grabbed the gun and left in Hunt's car, leaving the body behind. He later disposed of the firearm, he told detectives.
At an arraignment earlier this month, prosecutors said they did not believe Honeycutt was telling the truth about how his roommate died, signaling they believed Honeycutt was responsible for the shooting. An amended complaint was filed in the case Monday, upgrading the charge against Honeycutt from assisting in a suicide to first-degree murder.
Honeycutt is also charged with grand theft and destruction of evidence.
Police have not released a motive in the case or said what the men were doing in Star, a town to which neither appear to have any ties. Also unclear is how Hunt and Honeycutt, who is originally from Tennesee, came to live together.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 31.
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