‘Grave danger to the community’: Idaho man sentenced to life in prison for murder
A 60-year-old Boise man could spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2019 first-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler sentenced David Randall to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years, according to a news release from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
In December 2019, Randall ”attacked, tortured, stabbed and beat” Darla Fletcher after she’d driven back to their old home in Boise to collect some of her belongings, the release said. The pair had recently broken up.
Randall stabbed Fletcher over 50 times with a screwdriver and drumstick, according to court documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman.
“The defendant presents grave danger to the community,” Hippler said during Friday’s sentencing, according to the release.
Randall pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal in December 2021. As part of that deal, the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to ask for a 25-year fixed sentence, which grants a parole possibility, instead of life in prison.
Quickly after pleading guilty, Randall asked to walk back his plea on the grounds that his attorneys pressured him and he has a history of depression.
“I pleaded guilty to my charges, and I regret it so much. … You don’t know how hard it was to plead guilty to something that I don’t remember doing and was not intentional,” Randall wrote in a letter to his son the night after his plea hearing. “I had long discussions about doing this with my attorneys. … I take responsibility for (Fletcher’s) death, but I didn’t mean to kill her.”
Hippler denied the request in 24-page order and said Randall entered the plea agreement “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.”
“I extend my deepest condolences to Ms. Fletcher’s family and friends,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in the release. “This brutal domestic homicide has weighed on the victim’s family and friends, our office, and the community for over three years now. I’m proud of the hard work performed by my trial team and the Boise Police Department’s homicide detectives, which ensured justice was ultimately served in this case.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 1:31 PM.
