Renton Woman Held In Death Plot -- Tip Foils Alleged Plan To Kill Her Family

If the plan had been carried out, authorities say, an Idaho couple and their son might have been killed March 7, shot to death with guns taken from the family gun cabinet.

But a tip led police to the family's 23-year-old daughter, Wendy Josette Gregory, and the alleged murder was thwarted.

Gregory, of Renton, was to appear this afternoon in federal court in Boise on a charge of conspiring to have her family killed. The charge was filed today in federal court in Seattle.

It is unclear how soon she will be brought here to face the charge.

After a call March 3, Renton Police passed the conspiracy tip to local police in Moscow, Idaho. They interviewed Terry Gregory, Wendy's father, who reported that three guns had been stolen from his gun collection.

According to police, Wendy Gregory had stolen those guns and asked a friend in Renton to travel to Idaho to use them to commit the murders.

That friend, Guy Brown, was arrested by Renton Police after he talked with Gregory about the plan over the phone and received wired money to carry out the crime, according to the charging papers.

Gregory had given Brown a videotape showing entrances and the interior layout of the house, according to the complaint. The plan, according to police, was for Brown to commit the murders and then stage a robbery inside the house.

During a search of Brown's residence, police said they found two of the stolen guns, a videotape, and directions to the Gregory's home - with instructions to burn the directions in the family fireplace. They also reportedly found photos of each of the family members.

Police have not publicly stated a motive, though one detective said Gregory may have been trying to get money from her parents' deaths.

Terry and Patsy Gregory are a respected couple in Moscow, local police say. Terry Gregory runs a local business and Patsy Gregory works for another business.

Wendy Gregory grew up in the family home and attended high school in Moscow, moving to Renton within the past few years. She has no criminal record in Western Washington. She had been in minor trouble with Moscow Police as a juvenile, but had committed no major crimes there.

The Gregorys did not return phone calls today.

Moscow Police have dismissed weapons-theft charges that had been filed against Wendy Gregory so that federal authorities could prosecute her on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.