SANDPOINT — A Bonner County jury was presented Monday with the tale of two killings.

One was a jealously-induced flash of homicidal violence, while the other was a clear-cut case of self-defense.

Both versions ended with the death of Robert Cameroen Hegseth Wohali, who was fatally shot in the chest by Michael Ryan McDermott outside a recreational vehicle on the grounds of Evergreen Towing in March 2019. A grand jury indicted McDermott on charges of second-degree murder and failing to notify authorities of a death after Hegseth Wohali’s body was discovered dumped over an embankment in the Bottle Bay area of Sagle days after he was slain.

Public Defender Janet Whitney emphasized to jurors during her opening remarks that her client does not deny opening fire on Hegseth Wohali. She told jurors that Hegseth Wohali came at McDermott with a double-headed ax and believed he would be killed if he did not act.

“This case is about the exercise of a right of self-defense,” Whitney told jurors.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall advised jurors they would be peering into Bonner County’s underworld of methamphetamine users, but urged them not to be distracted by unsavory details. He argued the case boiled down to “jealousy, anger and rage.”

McDermott, 47, and Hegseth Wohali both had been in on-again/off-again romantic relationships with Alicia Flynn, the owner of the RV where Hegseth Wohali was shot to death. Flynn’s latest relationship with McDermott had ended and she rekindled her romance with Hegseth Wohali on the night he was killed.

Marshall told jurors McDermott suspected Flynn had company in her RV, but she stonewalled him. McDermott slammed Flynn’s head into the RV’s door, which caused Hegseth Wohali to come outside while holding the ax. He was promptly shot by McDermott, Marshall said.

“It really comes down to a moment in time,” Marshall told jurors.

Marshall said Flynn was threatened with the gun when she repeatedly demanded that help be summoned for Hegseth Wohali.

Flynn, 37, tearfully recalled performing CPR on Wohali and dashing over to another dwelling on the towing company’s yard to try and convince him to notify police. She further testified that she believed they were taking Hegseth Wohali to the hospital after loading his body into the cab of McDermott’s Toyota pickup truck.

“When we crossed the Long Bridge I knew we weren’t going to the hospital,” Flynn tearfully recalled.

Flynn also told jurors Hegseth Wohali had the ax over his shoulder during the confrontation with McDermott.

Under cross-examination by Chief Public Defender Susie Jensen, Flynn admitted Hegseth Wohali would grow paranoid and sometimes violent while under the influence of meth. Flynn also admitted remaining in McDermott’s company several days after the killing to use meth, pay social calls and run errands.

The trial resumes today in 1st District Court with Judge Barbara Buchanan presiding.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.