Probable cause report on Custer County man accused of murder

Benjamin Savage was arraigned in a busy day of court in Custer County Wednesday.

Savage pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder in the alleged killing of Charles McBride.

According to a probable cause report, Custer Count Sheriff Stuart Lumpkin got a phone call from Savage on the whereabouts of a missing person case.

Savage told Lumpkin that he and McBride went to work together on February 25. When they got to work, both men went their separate ways. Savage said that while working, he heard a loud bang and went see what was happening. He found McBride had been shot and killed, and a woman standing nearby. Savage told Lumpkin that the woman did not have a weapon.

Savage told the Sheriff’s Office that he knew where McBride’s body was buried. Law enforcement found remains, believed to be McBride, in the area where Savage said he was buried.

The Ada County Coroner’s Office positively identified the remains to be McBride.

Idaho State Police and Custer County Sheriff’s Office investigators said they had performed enough interviews and gathered evidence to determine that Savage was alone when McBride was killed.

Sgt. Levi Maydole filed first-degree murder charges against Savage on March 29.

In the probable cause report, it mentions that Savage made all his communication with law enforcement while he was in Pennsylvania. Maydole said he eluded and evaded law enforcement.

Savage is currently being held on a $1 million dollar bond.

He has a status conference set for September 16.