F. Lazcano found guilty of murder, dumping body

After seven hours of deliberation Friday, a Whitman County jury found Frank Lazcano guilty of murdering 23-year-old Marcus Schur and unlawfully disposing his body in a creek.

Lazcano was not granted bail and his sentencing date will be determined March 8, the same day his brother, Daniel Lazcano, 21, will be sentenced for unlawfully disposing of human remains. Daniel Lazcano was convicted of the misdemeanor Feb. 22.

The Lazcanos were both charged with first-degree murder, the unlawful disposal of human remains and kidnapping. Frank Lazcano, 25, was found not guilty for kidnapping and Daniel Lazcano will be retried for murder and kidnapping in the spring, since a separate jury hung on those charges.

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said he was happy with the decision but does not think Frank Lazcano's conviction will have an effect on Daniel Lazcano's retrial.

"We are, and have been, intending to retry Daniel for a murder that he committed," Tracy said. "To an extent I suppose this confirms our decision. We have a solid case, and I look forward to talking to the jury."

After Judge David Frazier read the verdict, Frank Lazcano turned and faced a full courtroom, where many of his friends and relatives were crying. The jury found the murder was not premeditated and Frank Lazcano will likely face a minimum of 25 years in prison but not a life sentence, according to his attorney, public defender Steve Martonick.

Martonick said he will be seeking an appeal.

"It's the best of the worst outcomes," he said. "We beat the kidnapping charge and we have good appeal issues on the felony murder. If they had gone with the premeditated murder we didn't have such good appeal issues. If we had to lose on a charge this was a good one to lose on."

The state accuses the Lazcanos of killing Schur on Dec. 27, 2011, at a Malden residence, as retaliation for a burglary he committed earlier that month. Frank Lazcano assaulted two people as he pursued Schur through the house and out the back, where Schur was confronted by Daniel Lazcano, who allegedly shot and killed him.

Defense attorney Eric Christianson presented Daniel Lazcano as someone who followed and tried to impress his older brother, while Martonick characterized Frank Lazcano as the older brother always taking the rap for his younger brother.

Both brothers admitted to disposing of Schur's body by stuffing it in the trunk of their white Ford Escort and dumping it in the Hole in the Ground area in north-central Whitman County. His body was found by a fisherman in March 2012.

Frank Lazcano's defense also claimed his brother shot Schur but Daniel Lazcano told another story at his own trial, claiming he stayed behind at their uncle James Holdren's residence and did not see Schur that night until Frank Lazcano and Holdren brought him back in the trunk of the car.

The prosecution's kidnapping charge hinged on convincing the jury that Schur was not only still alive when put into the trunk but also that the Lazcanos knew he was alive. Forensic pathologist Jeffrey Reynolds testified that the swelling in Schur's right hand suggested he was still alive when the brothers tied him up. However, the jury was instructed to disregard the swelling as evidence for a time of death.

The Lazcanos' uncle Travis Carlon and stepfather Eli Linsey will also possibly face charges for allegedly helping the brothers dispose of the murder weapon - an AK-47 found in the Spokane River - and helping construct a false alibi for Daniel Lazcano.

Estelle Gwinn can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by email to egwinn@dnews.com.