Trial moved to March for man accused of murdering mother
JEFF SMITH, For the Leader | Lake County Leader | UPDATED 1 week, 1 day AGO
Garrett Vaska
The jury trial for a Polson man, accused of murdering his mother, was pushed back to March 31 from Feb. 26.
Garrett Vaska, 47, was arraigned in District Court in Polson on Sept 28, 2023. He entered a plea of not guilty to felony charges of deliberate homicide with a dangerous weapon, and tampering with, or fabricating, physical evidence.
The case was in front of Judge Deborah “Kim” Christopher before she retired, and now it’s before Judge Molly Owen. During what was scheduled as a pre-trial conference in District Court in Polson Oct. 30, Vaska’s public defender, Toby Cook of Bigfork, explained that he needs the extra time to secure experts in the field of DNA sampling, a tool marksman, and a handwriting expert.
According to charging documents, sometime between Aug. 28 and Sept. 6, 2023, Vaska stabbed his mother, Phillista St. John, multiple times, causing her death. He then attempted to conceal her body by putting it in garbage bags and storing it under blankets in a room of her residence where it remained for several days.
Investigators noted that the body started to decompose. Pillows and other bedding were covered in large amounts of blood, inconsistent with a natural death.
A bloody knife with a missing tip on the blade was located within the home, along with several other knives. During an autopsy, a tip of a knife was located in the victim’s skull.
The investigation began with a welfare check by healthcare providers with the Confederated and Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Suspicious circumstances led the healthcare personnel to contact law enforcement which resulted in the discovery of St. John’s body.
Investigators say they also found a handwritten note that read, “I couldn’t do it anymore. Nobody would help me and I couldn’t do it anymore she wouldn’t (unintelligible handwriting) I killed her. Nobody knew and no one cared.”
The note also reads, “I’m sorry everything I have goes (unintelligible handwriting) to my daughter.”
Vaska remains in the Lake County Jail with bond set at $250,000.