Kootenai County prosecutors said money was the motive behind an alleged matricide that occurred in Coeur d'Alene last September.

Neil F. Stratton, 52, 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. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in jail on $3 million bail. 

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 it was her son who called 911, telling dispatchers he had found his mother injured. 

Susan Stratton was transported to Kootenai Health but never regained consciousness. She entered hospice care in late September, according to police, and legal notices published in December stated that she was deceased and her son, Neil, had been appointed personal representative of her estate. 

Coeur d'Alene detectives obtained a warrant to arrest Neil Stratton in April. While working to locate him, detectives learned he had left North Idaho and planned to travel from California to China, according to police. 

U.S. Marshals arrested Neil Stratton near Los Angeles in April. A Kootenai County grand jury indicted him on the felony charges in May. 

In court Friday, arguing against defense counsel's motion to suppress warrants for the Skyline property and another property in Spirit Lake, prosecuting attorney Art Verharen said interviews had revealed "tensions between family members" after Susan Stratton came into more than $500,000 after selling a home. 

Verharen referred to a "suicide note" in which Neil Stratton described "losing all purpose in life" due to financial struggles. 

"One can draw a pretty good conclusion that he needed money and she had money," he said. "In other words, there was a motive here." 

Before her death, Susan Stratton had plans to sell property and move to Missouri to be closer to her daughter, Verharen told the court. He said witness testimony during grand jury proceedings described Neil Stratton's "mood swings" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality." 

In February and March, Neil Stratton posted publicly on Facebook that he was selling up to two 10-acre lots on Catbird Drive in Spirit Lake, valued at around $292,000. Public records list his mother as a secondary owner of both lots. 

Jay Logsdon, Stratton's attorney, was skeptical that prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his client was behind the "pretty horrendous crime." 

"They've got a theory, but they don't have the facts to back it up," he said. 

Defense counsel asked the court to suppress evidence gathered during a Sept. 19 search of Susan Stratton's car, as well as any evidence resulting from that search. 

Neil Stratton briefly took the stand Friday, wearing a red jail jumpsuit and shackled at his wrists and ankles. Speaking quietly, he testified that his late mother allowed him to drive her vehicle when she wasn't using it and that he was listed on the vehicle's insurance. 

"If I didn't have access to the vehicle, I would not drive it anywhere," he said. 

Coeur d'Alene police officers testified that they had arranged to meet Neil Stratton in the parking lot at Kootenai Health, where his mother was in critical condition, the day after the attack. Det. Christopher Schatz told the court that Neil Stratton consented to police searching the car for the second time in as many days. 

Investigators were looking for Susan Stratton's cell phone, he said, but didn't find it. One officer spotted a receipt from Super 1 in Athol showing the purchase of Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner and photographed the receipt. 

Based on that evidence, police obtained surveillance footage from the day Neil Stratton bought the cleaner and identified the cashier who sold it to him. Police found the same bottle of cleaner in his bathroom at the Skyline home. An expert later weighed in on whether Scrubbing Bubbles could clean up a crime scene. 

Ben Onosko, an attorney representing Neil Stratton, argued that his client gave police permission only to search his mother's car for her cell phone, and they exceeded that scope by photographing the receipt. 

"It's very clear the officers were only asking to search for a cell phone," Onosko said. 

Prosecuting attorney Monica Bushling argued that Neil Stratton wasn't in a position to object to the search because he didn't own the car. Even if he did, she said, he watched police search his mother's vehicle and handle the receipt without objection, even suggesting spots inside the car where they might look. 

First District Judge Regina McCrea said she'll issue a written decision on the motions to suppress later. 

A six-week trial is scheduled to begin in November.