Murder charges related to the missing couple whose house burned in Grant County are being dismissed because the confession was not properly obtained.

Charges of first-degree murder and arson against Isaac Connery, 23, and his mother, Gabrielle Connery, 47, will be dismissed without prejudice — meaning the state could file the charges again if further evidence is discovered — according to a Feb. 12 press release from Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter.

The charges are in connection with the deaths of Terry and Sharon Smith, whose house on Nans Rock Road near Mt. Vernon burned to the ground in the early morning hours of July 17-18, 2018.

“This is heartbreaking on many levels,” Carpenter said. “Through Isaac Connery’s confession, we know who did it and how it was done. The mystery is gone but the accountability is, at least for now, out of reach.”

Judge Daina Vitolins ruled Feb. 10 that the confession by Isaac Connery obtained by Grant County Undersheriff Zach Mobley could not be used at trial because state prosecutors could not prove the confession was knowing, intelligent and voluntary because of Miranda violations.

Vitolins said Mobley never asked whether Isaac Connery understood his Miranda rights — the right to remain silent and have an attorney present during questioning. She also said, after Isaac Connery invoked his right to defense counsel, Mobley continued talking to him in violation of the law.

“Once an individual invokes their right to counsel, law enforcement must scrupulously honor that request and stop questioning,” she said.

Vitolins said Mobley’s testimony at the Feb. 10 hearing was “not helpful” because he did not review the interview tapes before the hearing and often said on the witness stand he was unsure and would have to review the tapes. She also said a face mask blocked the camera in one of the recordings, and a bag of chips blocked the view in another.

Without the confession, Carpenter said in the release the state had only “limited circumstantial evidence that does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt” the Connerys murdered the Smiths.

“Rather than push forward and risk jeopardy attaching, the State will dismiss the murder and arson cases without prejudice,” Carpenter said. “Investigation of the case will continue and possibly other evidence will come to light that will allow the State to proceed.”

The crime

Isaac Connery admitted in an interview that he took a handgun from Terry Smith and shot him during an altercation at the Smith residence and then shot Sharon Smith, according to Carpenter’s release.

“He used gasoline to start the Smith residence on fire, then took the (Smiths’) pickup and left,” Carpenter said. “He drove to the Boise area where he parked the pickup, removed the plates and rejoined his family on their travels.”

Carpenter said Isaac Connery later disassembled the gun and put it in the trash.

The fire totally destroyed the home, but former Sheriff Glenn Palmer later discovered the remains of two people at the site, Carpenter said.

“Death certificates were issued for Terry Smith, based on DNA analysis of human remains, and Sharon Smith, based on her disappearance and the second set of human remains,” he said. “Sharon Smith’s remains were burnt so thoroughly no DNA remained.”

Carpenter said the Connerys “almost immediately” became suspects.

The Oregon State Police, Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly investigated.

The interview

Mobley said he and FBI Special Agent Ben Jones first interviewed the Connerys in Arizona in July 2019, and they invoked their right to remain silent.

Isaac Connery was indicted June 23, 2020, for unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and a nationwide warrant was issued for his arrest, according to a previous release from Carpenter.

Mobley, Jones and Grant County Sgt. Danny Komning traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in July 2020 to interview Isaac Connery after he was arrested.

Judge Vitolins said in the Feb. 10 hearing, after reviewing the interview tapes, that Mobley read Miranda rights to Isaac Connery quickly and did not ask if he understood those rights before immediately beginning questioning. Several minutes into the interview Isaac Connery requested a lawyer.

On the stand, Mobley said he is required to stop questioning a suspect if they request a lawyer but is not required to stop talking to them.

Instead of stopping the interview, Mobley said he told Isaac Connery how he planned to proceed, by arresting two of his siblings and a family friend in connection to the murders.

“I believed I had probable cause for the arrests of them,” Mobley said on the stand.

Mobley said he then told Isaac Connery during the interview that Oregon was a death penalty state, which he said he believed was accurate at the time.

Mobley said Isaac Connery then told him he would talk but only if Jones and Komning left the room. He said the others left, and Isaac Connery confessed.

Isaac Connery’s attorney, Geoffrey Gokey, said Mobley used “deceptive police tactics.”

Carpenter said in his release that Oregon’s law regarding Miranda rights is clear, and he expected the court to rule as it did.

“We have to deal with the facts as they exist, not as we would like them to be,” Carpenter said. “Connery had the right to be advised of his rights in a way that he understood, and the right to have an attorney present when he requested one. The police must recognize those rights and proceed accordingly.”

“This is heartbreaking on many levels. Through Isaac Connery’s confession, we know who did it and how it was done. The mystery is gone but the accountability is, at least for now, out of reach.”

—Jim Carpenter, Grant County district attorney