Ex-boyfriend of missing Idaho woman pleads guilty to manslaughter. What to know

BONNER COUNTY (Idaho Statesman) — On March 7, 2019, Rae Allison Berwanger was reported missing by her brother to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office. She’s never been found.

But after a five-year investigation, law enforcement — despite never finding her body — arrested her ex-boyfriend, Jordan Law, in connection with her death. He was indicted last year on five felonies, including second-degree murder, and was expected to face a jury trial this week.

Instead, Law, now 48, will face sentencing next month after accepting a plea deal with the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office. He’s expected to be sentenced to the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, rather than second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to his plea agreement.

Without Berwanger’s body, Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall would have had to not only prove she died, but to prove that it wasn’t from natural causes, an accident or suicide, he told the Idaho Statesman. She was 54 years old at the time of her disappearance.

It’s extremely difficult to prosecute what they call a “no body homicide,” Marshall said in an email.

The only case known in the state’s recent history when the prosecution convicted a suspect without finding the victim’s body was in the 2014 trial of Charles Capone for killing his estranged wife in Moscow. But in that case, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson secured the testimony of a co-defendant who admitted to witnessing the killing.

In this case, Berwanger was last seen by her brother on March 3, 2019, at Law’s house in Athol, Idaho, roughly 30 minutes south of Sandpoint, where she’d been staying. Berwanger had told her brother that she and Law had a “falling out” and that she wanted to move away, according to court records.

Days after her disappearance, Berwanger’s brother provided the Sheriff’s Office with his sister’s bank statements, which showed three transactions that investigators at the time called “suspicious,” according to a probable cause affidavit. Berwanger’s bank card, used to withdraw $1,200 over the course of three days after she was last seen, and surveillance footage showed it was Law who withdrew the money.

Law was charged with felony acquiring a financial transaction card with the intent to defraud and was granted withheld judgment, which means the charge could be dismissed after probation. His charge was dismissed in 2021 after he a year of unsupervised probation.

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office considered Law a person of interest in Berwanger’s disappearance throughout the years, the agency wrote in a news release.

“While ultimately Mr. Law is avoiding a potential life sentence, I am proud of the work of my office and law enforcement,” Marshall said. “The dogged (pursuit) of this case is ending in a lengthy prison sentence where Mr. Law will be much older when he is released and less a danger to society.”

Law’s public defender, Catherine Enright, declined to comment for this story.

Other felonies, including rape counts, dismissed as part of plea deal

The Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office was prepared to proceed to trial this month on the second-degree murder charge with a “strong circumstantial case,” Marshall said. But, he said, he also needed to consider the possibility that the evidence wouldn’t be enough to convince all 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt.

Marshall said he decided that a known outcome — a joint plea deal — was better than the potential of a hung jury or even an acquittal. As part of the plea deal, so long as the presiding judge follows the agreement, Law won’t be eligible for parole or released early.

“These are the difficult decisions prosecutors are forced to make and what keeps us up at night,” Marshall wrote in an email to the Statesman.

Law pleaded guilty through an Alford plea, which carries the weight of a guilty plea but allows him to avoid admitting guilt. Instead, he acknowledged at his September hearing that if the case had proceeded to trial, there was a possibility he could have been convicted.

“I do find that there is a strong factual basis to support the plea, and I will enter an Alford plea on your behalf,” 1st Judicial District Judge Susie Jensen said in court, “and I will find that such decision was made voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently with the assistance of counsel.”

The other four felonies against him, including two counts of rape, were also dismissed as part of the agreement. The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office said the rape charges stemmed from another victim discovered during the investigation.

It would have been “very difficult” for the woman who had been in a brief romantic relationship with Law to testify at trial, Marshall said. Her brave testimony in front of the grand jury, he said, helped hold Law accountable.

“While we can’t pursue charges concerning what happened to her, it is my (belief) her willingness to come forward and potentially testify may have convinced the defendant to plead to the manslaughter charge,” Marshall added.

Law’s sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Bonner County Courthouse in Sandpoint, court records showed.