Whitefish man allegedly admits to killing father

The Whitefish man accused of killing his father in a July 9 dispute allegedly admitted to law enforcement officers that he stabbed and killed the man that had taken responsibility for caring for him after he diagnosed with a mental illness.

Tanner Lehnen Hosek, 26, is lodged in the Flathead County Jail on $300,000 bail. He is facing one felony count of deliberate homicide.

In the affidavit of probable cause filed by Deputy County Attorney Travis Ahner, when officers from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence outside Whitefish on Wilderness Lane, they found Eric Hosek, 65, dead.

Tanner Hosek allegedly told officers he had used a knife to stab and kill his father.

Court documents indicate Tanner has schizophrenia and his parents, Eric and Linda Hosek, were appointed his co-guardians in August 2015 to help care for him.

Tanner was a 2010 Whitefish High School graduate who played soccer at the varsity level.

Court documents indicate that in November 2012 he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.

Another court document noted that Tanner had attended the University of Montana in 2010, when he first reported his mental-health concerns. At one point he was hospitalized at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

A July 2015 letter from a social worker who was a part of Tanner’s guardian hearing read, “Tanner remains stable at this time, but if he decides to go off his medications, per history, he is not capable of making rational decisions on his behalf. Eric and Linda Hosek are the most appropriate people to take on this guardianship and will do what it takes to keep Tanner safe.”

According to a listing on the Flathead Valley Community College’s website, Tanner was on the spring 2017 dean’s list.

Eric Hosek was a senior financial consultant with D.A. Davidson & Co., in Whitefish and had been with the company since 2001.

According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, Hosek and his wife moved to Whitefish in 1981. Eric served on the Whitefish School Board and worked with the Whitefish Education Foundation. In addition, he served as a coach and was active in youth hockey. He also taught for more than 10 years in an outdoor education field.

Tanner Hosek’s next court date is at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at the Flathead County Justice Court. District Judge Dan Wilson will preside.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker can be reached at (406) 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.