Edgar Steele

Steele was initially assigned a federal public defender, Roger Peven, when he was arrested.[12] In July 2010, Steele's supporters put up a website to solicit donations to hire him a private attorney. By February 2011, they had raised over $120,000 for this purpose, and hired leading Denver attorney Robert T. McAllister, as well as local Idaho attorney Gary Amendola.[13] Steele remained incarcerated in Spokane, Washington, and Bonner County, Idaho while awaiting trial. He was relocated to Boise, Idaho, for his trial, which began on April 28, 2011.[14] At the time of the trial, McAllister was in the process of being disbarred for converting the funds of a client to his own use.[15]

Prosecutor Traci Whelan questioned Steele's wife Cyndi regarding her marital troubles with him.[16] In 2000, Cyndi had caught her husband looking for women in California on match.com; she posted her own profile with a fake name and got him to reply, after which she filed for divorce. In her petition, she asked for numerous damages, including child support payments of $1,400 per month, two of the family's vehicles, and their horse ranch in Sagle, Idaho.[17] Though Steele and Cyndi were reconciled a few months later, the prosecution used this to argue that Steele was unsatisfied with his marriage and had a motive to kill his wife because he wanted a new partner.

Steele's computer had been seized with his arrest. Under questioning, Cyndi testified that her husband had sent 14,000 emails to large numbers of Ukrainian women between January and June 2010 as part of his research on a Russian bride scam centered in Florida.[18] Each of the women had received at least 10 emails or 100 instant messages. The prosecutor argued that this showed that Steele wanted a new partner, and had a motive to kill his current wife.

The prosecutor introduced several love letters written by Steele to his supposed Ukrainian girlfriend Tatyana Loginova from his jail cell while he was awaiting trial. These letters were signed by Steele and were admitted as evidence in court without any objection from Steele's attorney. In one of the letters, Steele expressed a wish to live with Loginova:

You could, perhaps, go to school in Panama, if you like, or summer school in Ukraine, or we could find you something to do – work at something, language instructions [sic]? Take care of our babies, make love to me, whatever will make you happy. You get to be near friends, family for half of every year. I get the same for three months each year. We both get to be warm for the winter, which can be like a huge, extended vacation each year. Our kids learn both Russian and English as they grow up. It sounds great to me. What do you think, my love?[19]

Loginova was later questioned over a video link from the Ukraine. The prosecutor argued that Steele desired to be with Loginova in Ukraine, and thus had a motive to kill his wife.

On May 5, 2011, after extended deliberation, the jury of eleven women and one man found Steele guilty on all four counts described in the indictment: (1) use of interstate commerce to commission murder for hire, (2) possession of a destructive device in relation to a crime of violence, (3) use of explosive material to commit a federal felony, and (4) tampering with a witness.[20] In an interview after the trial ended, Steele's wife gave a passionate and critical assessment of the prosecution, judge and case elements.[21] Steele's sentencing hearing was held on November 9, 2011, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After making a statement in his own defense,[22] he was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment.[23] He was interned in Victorville, California until his death.

As a result of these convictions he was disbarred from the practice of law by the State Bar of California on January 30, 2014.[24]