Court-ordered mediation was under way most of Tuesday in the case of Melisa R. Bates, who is charged with murdering her uncle at his home south of St. Maries last spring.

Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne said a hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today at the courthouse in St. Maries. He declined to say if Bates would be changing her not guilty plea or if an agreement had been lined out to resolve the case.

Payne said if no agreement is reached, the case would go to trial next week, starting Tuesday and running through Friday.

Payne said 1st District Court Judge Fred Gibler ordered mediation with Judge Jeff Brudie, of Idaho's 2nd District in Lewiston.

Payne said a settlement agreement is the preferred course for judges. "Trials are an unknown," he added.

A negotiated settlement is "more efficient" and offers "better results usually" for both sides compared with a trial.

Bates is charged with first-degree murder for the death of uncle Robert D. Marek, 43, on May 15. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

During her preliminary hearing, evidence presented by Payne alleged that she shot Marek, beat him with a metal rod and then burned his body in the backyard of Marek's home about eight miles south of St. Maries along Highway 3.

Human remains, mostly bone, were found in a makeshift fire pit in the middle of Marek's lawn. His body was burned along with tires, wood and hay, ringed by rocks and cinder blocks.

Bates was arrested at a boat launch in Bayview on Lake Pend Oreille.

Earlier this week, Payne was publicly criticized by the father of an 18-year-old woman who was shot and killed. The boyfriend in that case is charged with murder.

The father of Stefanie A. Comack, James E. Comack, said he believes Payne wants to settle the case by offering the boyfriend, Joseph D. Herrera, a manslaughter charge instead of murder in exchange for a guilty plea. Payne said that's not true.

Herrera's defense lawyer, Will Butler, wouldn't say whether or not plea negotiations are ongoing in the case. Butler says the shooting of Stefanie was accidental.

James Comack complained that Payne was letting past defendants off too lightly in plea deals and not taking cases to trial. In addition to the recent Plummer murder of Antowyn D. Swiney, Comack cited two other cases in which he believes defendants got off too lightly for their crimes.

Swiney's killer, Jody A. Miller, got a mandatory sentence of 12 and a half years in prison, though he could serve up to 25 years.

In the death of Robert J. Spray in August 2006, Comack complained that defendants in that case, James H. Arnold, 49, and son Joseph J. Arnold, 21, were let off too easily.

The son was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and received six months of jail, with four months suspended.

The father was convicted of destroying or concealing evidence and was sentenced to up to three years in prison.

Both have served their sentences and were released on those charges.

Comack also cited the case of Lawrence Banderob, who was convicted of killing 76-year-old Miriam "Micky" Waltch in February 2006. Banderob was sentenced in June 2007 to life in prison, though he's eligible for parole in 30 years.