Blankenship Pleads Guilty To Felony Concealment Of A Crime
BY DANA DUGAN
Hailey resident Keith E. Blankenship will be sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the matter of destruction, alteration or concealment of a crime, which is a felony. He was originally charged, and has been held in the Blaine County Detention Facility awaiting trial, since May 2014 for the second-degree murder of his neighbor, Steve Romanchuck, 47. Romanchuk was reported missing Jan. 15, 2014 by his wife, Lauraine Phillips.
Blankenship, 52, is charged with felony counts of second-degree murder and evidence concealment in the shooting death on or about Jan. 15, 2014 at Blankenship’s home on Deer Creek Road north of Hailey. Blankenship turned himself in to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office on May 14, 2014. Romanchuk’s body was recovered the following day from where it was partially hidden in a pile of dead leaves and debris. Blankenship has claimed that the shooting, over a money dispute, was in self-defense.
In September, after three unsuccessful attempts at trial were implemented in Blaine County and one in Minidoka County, Blankenship pled guilty to one count of failure to notify coroner or law enforcement of a death with intent to prevent discovery of the manner of death. This crime is a felony under Idaho Code Section 19-4301A(1)(3). In exchange for Blankenship’s guilty plea, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office dismissed the one count of second-degree murder and one count of destruction of evidence.
In the trial in April 2016, which was declared a mistrial after an unsubstantiated comment made by Philips, Blankenship claimed Romanchuck came to his home and brandished a gun before Blankenship opened fire. Romanchuk was shot a total of five times. Due to decomposition when the body was finally recovered five months later, investigators couldn’t tell from which direction all of the shots had come.
Blankenship claimed he planned to tell the police––by phone, and then by driving to the police station––but was fearful that no one would believe him. Romanchuck bled to death from his wounds in Blankenship’s home. In a panic, he buried him in his backyard. He also said he disposed of Romanchuk’s pistol in an alley dumpster off of Carbonate Street in Hailey.
The plea was reached following a lengthy investigation and deliberations with the victim’s family, law enforcement and experts. The burden of evidence was on the state and there was scant evidence to prove or refute the claim by Blankenship that he shot Romanchuk in self-defense.
Judge Jonathan P. Brody will preside over sentencing at the Blaine County Courthouse. At the sentencing hearing, both parties will have the opportunity to present evidence or testimony, either through witnesses or documents. The court will then listen to arguments by both parties, first by the state and then the defense. After arguments, the defendant will have an opportunity to speak to the court. Finally, the court will sentence the defendant.
Blankenship remains incarcerated in the Blaine County jail on $500,000 bond.