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Man who killed German exchange student in his garage pleads not guilty

A judge in Montana rejected a prosecutor's request to raise bail for the Missoula man charged with killing German exchange student Diren Dede to $500,000.

By Frances Burns

MISSOULA, Mont., May 21 (UPI) -- The wife of a Missoula, Mont., man charged with gunning down a German exchange student in his garage will not face charges, a prosecutor said.

Markus Kaarma, 29, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to deliberate homicide. Kaarma, who has surrendered his firearms, remained free after a judge refused to increase his $30,000 bail.

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Prosecutors asked for $500,000 bail, telling District Court Judge Ed McLean that Kaarma's neighbors fear his "irrational" behavior. Kaarma's lawyer said neighbors were not afraid of him until his highly publicized arrest.

Kaarma and his wife, Janelle Pflager, allegedly set up motion sensors and video cameras in their garage because they were upset about recent burglaries. Investigators say Pflager also left a purse as bait, making a list of the contents.

Diren Dede, 17, who was spending a year at Big Sky High School in Missoula, was shot dead April 27. Kaarma allegedly fired four shots into the garage after the couple spotted intruders on their monitors and Pflager told her husband to "get out there."

Missoula County Prosecutor Andrew Paul said late Tuesday there is "insufficient evidence" to charge Pflager with a crime.

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The prosecution of Kaarma, like the recent conviction of Byron Smith, a Minnesota man who lured two teenage burglars into his home and then gunned them down, has angered some gun-rights activists. They argue that intruders on private property are fair game under the Castle Doctrine.

Kaarma has admitted shooting Dede, saying he feared for his own safety and that of his wife and their young child.

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