SANDPOINT — A Bonner County jury is slated to resume deliberations today in the second-degree murder case against Michael Ryan McDermott.

The predominantly male jury was given the case after final instruction on Thursday morning. The panel deliberated for more than four hours before sending a note to the court asking for the definition of the term “malice.”

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan sent jurors home early said the state and the defense could determine the best way to define the term for jurors. Buchanan noted that certain dictionary definitions of terms can differ from legal definitions of terms.

McDermott, 47, is accused of shooting Robert Cameroen Hegseth Wohali on the grounds of Evergreen Towing in the late-night hours of March 14 or the early-morning hours of March 15. The body of Hegseth-Wohali was discovered several days later down an embankment on Gold Hill.

McDermott initially denied knowledge of what happened to Hegseth Wohali, although he later confessed to shooting him in self-defense after Hegseth Wohali came at him with a double-headed ax. He testified in his own defense on Wednesday.

The state maintains Hegseth Wohali was shot in a jealous rage after discovering his former girlfriend had rekindled a relationship with Hegseth Wohali.

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