Montana Supreme Court rejects accused killer's bail reduction request

An accused killer’s latest attempt to have his $25 million bail lowered has been rejected by the Montana Supreme Court.

The justices unanimously ruled on Oct. 4 against the request by 63-year-old Garry Douglas Seaman, a Kalispell attorney charged in the shooting death of James Preston Freeman and the wounding of his former, long-time domestic partner at the Alexander Creek Campground near Libby Dam on May 23.

Lincoln County District Judge Matt Cuffe set the bail amount on May 31 after Seaman was accused of using a shotgun in both shootings. He pleaded not guilty to the charges of deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide as well as evidence tampering in June.

The one-time couple was “going through a contentious separation, and recent instances of violence and requests for civil standby assistance have been documented by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office,” wrote Deputy Lincoln County Attorney Jeffrey Zwang in an affidavit charging the shootings.

Missoula County District Judge Jason Marks, who took over the case from Cuffe, ordered Seaman’s bail would remain at $25 million following an Aug. 5 hearing. Under state law, if Seaman sought to use real estate to cover the bond, he would need to put up about $50 million worth of property.

Seaman sought a bail amount of $1 million and that the court could impose conditions, including a GPS monitor. Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris opposed the bail reduction and the alleged surviving victim testified about her fear of Seaman and her belief that if he were freed, he would seek to “finish the job.”

Judge Marks said he believed $25 million is appropriate.

“If the defendant is able to post bail, the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office should be notified five days prior to his release,” Marks said then.

Seaman then filed a writ of habeus corpus. Habeas corpus is available to review a decision of a district court on a motion to set bail. Seaman argued his bail was excessive and violated the Montana Constitution.

But Judge Marks responded that during the Aug. 5 hearing, the alleged victim provided credible, uncontroverted testimony that he believed was reasonable because “a high likelihood exists Mr. Seaman will flee if bail is not imposed.”

At the Aug. 5 hearing, the victim’s emotional and highly-charged testimony left the courtroom in silence after Boris questioned the woman about her past relationship with Seaman and her feelings since the alleged shooting.

“I’m terrified,” she said. “I never thought it would go this far. If he ever gets out, I have no doubt he’d finish the job.”

She also said her doctors told her she shouldn’t have lived.

“I was shot in the left hand, twice in the stomach, in the buttocks, my right breast. I have to wear a colostomy bag because of what the shrapnel did to my intestines.”

The woman, who was able to walk into the courtroom with some assistance from family members, explained that she went to work in Seaman’s law firm on May 19, 1994. She said they began a romantic relationship 15 years ago and one child was born of the union.

“We broke up in 2020, but I went back to him briefly before things went downhill again,” she said. “It (the relationship) ended in April 2022. One night he said, ‘Get the (expletive) out of my house and you’re fired.’”

She also talked about the day of the shooting and her relationship with Freeman.

“James and I were old friends from 30 years ago and we had texted and talked,” she said.

After their relationship evolved, they decided to go camping in Lincoln County.

“We didn’t tell anyone where we were going, but I told my son we were going camping. It was the first weekend Garry would take him (their son),” she said.

The woman said the reservation they had made for a campsite was cancelled because of a “glitch in the system.”

“We stopped at a restaurant in Libby and a waitress told us another place we could go,” she said.

The woman said she and Freeman spent time shooting guns at a local firing range before returning to the campsite.

“James and I were sitting at a picnic table when Garry drove in. I believe my guns were in the glove box of my vehicle.

“He said, ‘It’s you, it’s you,’ and then started shooting. He shot James first, then me,” she said.

The woman alleged in a petition for a protection order filed in Flathead County that Seaman had followed her to homes she was interested in renting and was using electronic devices to track her location because she received notifications on her phone, according to the affidavit filed by Zwang.

According to court documents, the woman identified Seaman as the shooter while deputies provided emergency treatment. She gave them a description of his vehicle and told them it had “Kalispell plates.”

He was arrested near his home in the Flathead Valley following a manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies.

In addition to her testimony about the alleged shooting, the woman explained why she didn’t want the bail reduced.

“He’s lived a life of luxury,” she said. “He has a home on Flathead Lake with his brother, two other homes in Kalispell, several mobile home lots in Great Falls and Kalispell.

“He also has hundreds of guns, he has guns all over the house, at work, in his vehicle, he has an airplane, he has several sports cars and other vehicles, he collects gold bullion and I am just like all of those things - I am a possession to him and that’s why he shot me,” she said.

At a Sept. 9 court hearing, Judge Marks scheduled Seaman’s trial for two weeks, beginning on April 24, 2023.

Seaman is facing a maximum term of life in the Montana State Prison.