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Police believe man killed wife, then set fire to house
A 37-year-old Mountain Home woman was found dead in her burning home Saturday night and her husband of two months will be charged with her murder, authorities say.
Killed was Jodi Lynn Valen, 37, the former Jodi Prather, who married John B. Valen, 34, in December of 2004.
Valen currently is recovering from smoke inhalation at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, but once he is released he will be returned to Mountain Home, probably within the week, and initially arraigned on a charge of second-degree murder, first degree arson, and two counts of animal cruelty.
His wife's body was found in the bathtub of her home, stabbed and slashed repeatedly and apparently set on fire after her death, the initial investigation indicates.
Valen is a senior airman at Mountain Home AFB who works as a weapons loader in the 366th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. He was assigned to the base about three years ago.
His wife was a long-time Mountain Home resident. An autopsy was performed Tuesday by the Ada County Coroner's Office to determine the exact cause of death but authorities do not expect the complete results to be available immediately.
Mountain Home Police Chief Tom Berry asked that anyone who has any information about the couple, especially concerning their actions and state of mind in the days preceding the incident, or who had any contact with the couple during that time which might be relevant, to call them at 587-2101.
The incident began Saturday night when neighbors across the street from the Valen home, which is located at 114 E. 8th North Street, a short block known locally to old-timers as "Easter Egg Row," made a 911 call at 8:57 p.m. to report that the house appeared to be on fire.
Fire Chief Phil Gridley, who lives only a few blocks away, arrived about a minute later, followed quickly by fireman Bud Corbus. A few minutes later fire trucks and firemen had arrived to fight the fire and police had shown up to provide traffic control, the responding vehicles quickly filling the narrow street.
The initial role of traffic control for the police officers would change considerably over the next few minutes.
Gridley said he called into the house, which was locked at both the front and back doors, to see if anyone was home, but no one answered. The presence of two vehicles in the driveway, however, "sent up signals to both Bud and I," he said. "We suspected there might be someone in the house."
Firemen broke some windows and quickly extinguished the fire, but the house was filled with smoke that went almost all the way to the floor.
Gridley sent some firefighters and police to the back door to look into the small single-family residence that is typical of the homes on that block.
The firemen then forced entry into the home and, using their new thermal imaging device, which can detect bodies in a smoke-filled room, began searching the house.
They quickly found John Valen standing in one of the rooms (authorities refused to say which room), and brought him outside without resistance, where he was quickly placed in an ambulance and treatments for smoke inhalation were begun.
Firemen continued to search the house and soon found the couple's Shar-Pei dog, which had apparently been repeatedly slashed, stabbed and killed (a puppy killed in the same manner also was later found in the home).
A few moments later the fireman, who wasn't identified, came across the body of Jodi Valen.
"He came out and told me that he thought we had a possible crime scene," Gridley said. "I got hold of one of the (police) officers and told them to get Tom (Berry) here right away."
As soon as the police chief arrived the crime scene was secured, a search warrant was obtained, and Berry called in the special crime scene investigation team of the Idaho State Police, as well as alerting the base's Office of Special Investigation, while Gridley called in the arson investigator from the state Fire Marshall's Office.
Valen was placed in custody and then transported to St. Al's for further treatment from a severe case of smoke inhalation.
The initial investigation indicated that Valen had apparently set "multiple sites throughout the house," but authorities said structural damage to the house was described as "minimal," although the smoke damage was considerable.
Elmore County Prosecutor Aaron Bazzoli said the motive behind the crime is not known at this time and is still under investigation. The murder weapon has not been released by authorities.
Police had not had any reports of domestic violence at the home, previously, and had not had any contact with either of the couple relating to any criminal matter in the past, but authorities were investigating the Valen's background to try and learn more information. It is believed that John Valen is originally from New York, the prosecutor said.
Bazzoli said he was leaving open the possibility of filing additional charges, or upgrading the current second-degree murder charge, if the continuing investigation indicated a need to do so. "We're trying to keep an open mind about this, and are pursuing all leads," he said, noting that it could be several weeks before the full investigation is completed. The initial warrant for Valen indicates Bazzoli will request a $2 million bond.
The case is the fifth homicide in Elmore County in the last two-and-a-half years, but the first one in the jurisdiction of the Mountain Home Police Department in eight years, when a young man had been convicted of killing a baby by smashing it against a wall in a fit of rage.