Uhrich changes plea to guilty
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POLSON — A Polson man is facing 80 years in the Montana State Prison after pleading guilty to deliberate homicide. Tyler Uhrich, 20, entered the guilty plea during a change of plea hearing at District Court in Polson on Oct. 20 as part of a plea agreement. The agreement calls for a joint recommendation of 80 years in the Montana State Prison with none of that time suspended. It also calls for one count of felony criminal endangerment being dismissed at sentencing. Prosecutor Brendan McQuillan with the Lake County Attorney’s office says Uhrich will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years.
According to court records, shortly before 10 p.m. on May 10, Lake County 911 took a report that a person, identified by the initials J.D., had reported being lost in the Hell Roaring Canyon area of the Mission Mountains east of Polson. J.D. had also reported that there was a domestic violence situation with shots fired.
When law enforcement officers arrived, they were unable to locate the parties, but J.D. did provide law enforcement with more details about who was involved. She indicated that she had seen Uhrich standing over the mother of his child, Rozlyn Paige Bluemel, 22. J.D. stated that when she approached the two, Uhrich turned his attention toward her and Bluemel ran off into the woods. She said Uhrich chased after her. J.D. said she heard a shot and Uhrich returned. When J. D. last saw Uhrich he appeared to be walking toward where he had left his vehicle.
Law enforcement did locate Uhrich’s vehicle, which was still running with the headlights on and the child inside. The window had been left open and the child appeared to be cold and was crying, which was the reason McQuillan brought the criminal endangerment charge.
A search for the pair continued overnight and into the next day. It was late afternoon May 11 when law enforcement officers located Bleumel’s body. She was lying face down on the ground in a heavily wooded area. She had been shot once in the back of the head with the bullet exiting the front temple area. Bluemel’s cellphone was discovered nearby.
Uhrich surrendered to law enforcement at his parents’ home in the Pablo area the evening of May 13.
Judge John Larson, who appeared remotely from Missoula, tentatively set a sentencing date of Dec. 22. However, the sentencing date will likely be changed to a day that will better accommodate the large number of witnesses expected to testify.
