A well-known Hailey man is being held without bond in the Twin Falls County Jail after being charged Thursday with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the first degree.
John Henry McElhiney, 31, was arraigned on the charges Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls County District Court. He is accused in the death of a man, 18-year-old Dale Miller, whose decomposing body was found Wednesday evening in a garage on Morningside Drive in southwest Twin Falls.
Police are also seeking a Gooding man as part of their investigation. He was identified in a Twin Falls Police Department press release as 29-year-old Cameron Watts.
"Mr. Watts has been identified as a person of interest in the investigation," the press release states.
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Twin Falls police reported that they were called to 322 Morningside Dr., Apt. 1 at 8:18 p.m. Wednesday after the body was discovered in the unit's garage.
Details linking McElhiney to the death of the man were not made available Thursday afternoon to the Idaho Mountain Express, but McElhiney was apparently arrested Wednesday evening at the Morningside Drive apartments before the discovery of the body.
The press release did not state a suspected motive for the crime.
Hailey police Lt. Dave Stellers said McElhiney was wanted on a Blaine County $20,000 bond misdemeanor warrant issued earlier this month.
Stellers said McElhiney has had several recent brushes with the law. He was also arrested last month in Blaine County on a $900 bond warrant out of Elmore County charging him with failure to appear on an invalid driver's license charge.
McElhiney has numerous acquaintances in the Wood River Valley. He was recently employed as a car salesman at Sawtooth Auto Sales in Hailey.
Twin Falls County public defender Marilyn Paul appeared with McElhiney at his arraignment Thursday afternoon.
Express staff writer Jody Zarkos contributed to this report
John Henry McElhiney & Cameron Watts
