MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Two men accused of plotting to kill 21-year-old Tonya Lynn Hart last December have been charged with first-degree murder.

Latah County sheriff’s deputies arrested David J. Meister, 19, on Thursday. An interview with Meister led to the arrest of Hart’s fiancee, Jesse J. Linderman, 21, early Friday.

Linderman allegedly promised Meister $1,000 to kill Hart. He offered an extra $100 if she was dead before Christmas.

Officials said Meister told a detective on Thursday that Linderman had hired him to kill Hart. Meister said Linderman first approached him in October. Shortly before Hart’s death, Linderman allegedly paid Meister $500 in cash, but never paid the balance.

On the night of the murder, Meister said he walked to Hart’s trailer and knocked on the back door. When she answered, Meister shot her once in the face and once in the chest before fleeing.

Linderman moved to Montana shortly after Hart’s killing, but returned to Moscow two months ago.

“I can’t believe he would do this,” said friend and roommate Jake Butler. “He stuck around town after Tonya died, then he moved and came back. Those are all signs he wasn’t worried about getting arrested for murder.”

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A2.

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