Criminal charges against Cheryl Wise, accused of deliberately causing a fatal car accident, have been upgraded to two counts of second-degree murder.
Wise, 24, a resident of Twin Falls, had been charged with two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter following a head-on accident near Carey on July 23. The accident killed Bellevue residents Francisco Rojas, 37, and his son Julian, 9.
Following further investigation, prosecutors now contend that Wise crossed the center line and aimed her Chevrolet Blazer at the oncoming vehicle to recreate an accident that occurred July 20 and killed a man with whom she had reportedly been romantically involved.
Following the crash, Wise was flown to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where she was arrested on July 29. She is now being held in Blaine County Jail in lieu of payment of a $500,000 bond.
Wise is also charged with aggravated DUI, a felony, as the result of having a blood-alcohol content of .09 at the time of the crash. According to a probable cause affidavit for her arrest, sheriff's deputies found a 12-pack of beer, with five bottles empty, and one empty can in Wise's car. The car also contained a bottle of sleeping pills, with three and a half pills missing, and a receipt for the pills dated only two and one-half hours before the wreck.
A preliminary hearing for Wise is set for Aug. 16, at which time a magistrate judge will determine whether there is probable cause to believe that Wise committed the crimes with which she is charged. If so, she will be bound over to district court for a trial.
The penalty for second-degree murder is imprisonment for 10 years to life.
