Woman arrested, charged with murder of Thompson Falls man

by Mary Cloud Taylor Daily Inter Lake
| March 21, 2019 1:59 PM

The Sanders County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Polson woman charged with the murder of Matthew George LaFriniere of Thompson Falls, who was killed nearly one year ago.

Deputies took Danielle Jeanette Wood into custody Wednesday morning, and she was charged with deliberate homicide, according to Sheriff Tom Rummel.

LaFriniere, 51, was found dead on May 3, 2018, at around 2 p.m. after the dispatch center received a report of an unresponsive adult male.

Responding officers from the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office and Thompson Falls Police Department found LaFriniere dead at his home on Airport Road in Thompson Falls.

Rummel said Wood is being held on a $1 million bond.

If convicted, Wood could face at least 10 years in prison with the potential sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.

Wood is employed at the Lake County Leader newspaper in Polson, which is a part of Hagadone Montana Publishing.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.