COEUR d'ALENE — A local man is on trial for allegedly killing his mother over money. 

Neil F. Stratton, 53, of Coeur d'Alene, is charged with first-degree murder, burglary and destruction of evidence, all felonies, in connection with the 2025 death of his mother, 77-year-old Susan Stratton.

The charges stem from Sept. 18 of last year, when Coeur d'Alene police responded to the 1100 block of East Skyline Drive, where they said Susan Stratton was attacked while in bed. Prosecutors said her son called 911, telling dispatchers he had found his mother injured. 

There were no signs of forced entry at the Skyline home, prosecutors said, and nothing was stolen, not even jewelry or credit cards. The only item missing was Susan Stratton's phone, which was never recovered.  

Susan Stratton was transported to Kootenai Health but never regained consciousness. She entered hospice care in late September, according to police, and died Oct. 3. Soon after, prosecutors said her son emptied her bank accounts of more than $30,000. 

In court Tuesday, prosecutors said Neil Stratton brutally attacked his mother two weeks after she began planning to sell the house on East Skyline Drive where they had lived together and move to Missouri to be closer to her adult daughter's family. 

"Mr. Stratton lived off his mother," prosecuting attorney Art Verharen told jurors. "He was unemployed." 

Prosecutors said money was what motivated Neil Stratton to drive his mother's Subaru to a family property in Spirit Lake the day before the attack and then, under cover of darkness, ride a bike from Spirit Lake to Coeur d'Alene. 

Stratton allegedly entered the home he had shared with his mother and attacked her while she was in bed, then rode his bike back to Spirit Lake. 

The attacker allegedly beat Susan Stratton with a blunt object, which was never found. She sustained "ripping" and "crushing" wounds to her head, prosecutors said, and had defensive wounds on her hands. Some of her fingers were broken or "cut in half." 

Defense counsel said the male DNA found under Susan Stratton's fingernails didn't match her son. 

"There's no logical explanation for how Neil would have beaten Susan like this, blood spraying everywhere, and not a drop of blood to be found on any of his property," said defense attorney Ben Onosko. 

Prosecutors said surveillance footage showed a man riding a bike near the Spirit Lake property after 8 p.m. on Sept. 17. Investigators reportedly used more surveillance footage to follow the cyclist's journey from Spirit Lake to Coeur d'Alene, within half a mile of Susan Stratton's house. Eight hours later, the cyclist returned to Spirit Lake.  

"That was the break in the case," Verharen said.  

In early September, prosecutors said, Neil Stratton had researched how long it would take to walk from the Spirit Lake property to the Coeur d'Alene address.  

Onosko said the footage proves nothing and contains discrepancies.  

"They stitch it all together like some type of Frankenstein's monster," he said. 

Verharen said surveillance footage clearly showed the cyclist's mountain bike and distinctive backpack, both of which were later recovered from the Spirit Lake property. 

Defense counsel argued that police focused their investigation on Neil Stratton because he was a convenient suspect, despite a lack of physical evidence tying him to the attack. 

"The police did not treat this investigation as a quest for the truth," Onosko said. "They treated it as a quest to convict one man, Neil Stratton." 

Onosko said his client had no reason to kill Susan Stratton. 

"Susan was Neil's favorite person in the world," he said. "He loved his mother." 

Verharen acknowledged that there are no eyewitnesses, no confession and no DNA evidence proving the case, but said the totality of the evidence will show that Neil Stratton committed the crimes. 

"This case will show you that he planned to do what he did to his mother," Verharen said. 

Court won't be in session on Veterans Day. The trial will resume Thursday.