Thomas trial begins in Libby

Jury selection began Monday in the case of an 18-year-old man charged with helping his girlfriend shoot a man to death at a remote Libby-area campground last summer.  

Stephen Michael Thomas is being tried for the July incident that resulted in the death of 67-year-old Larry Kingsley at a campsite on Sylvan Lake.

Thomas, who was 17 at the time, is accused of shooting Kingsley several times in the head. Thomas’ girlfriend, 19-year-old Heather Henson, was convicted of attempted mitigated deliberate homicide last December and sentenced to five years in prison for her part in the incident.

According to the investigation, Henson and Thomas told police upon arrest that they shot Kingsley out of self-defense because the man was delusional and had trapped and threatened them at the campground.

The trial is expected to last into the middle of next week.