Nampa man stabbed dad, set home on fire. But judge’s sentence weighs all factors
A Nampa man will spend at least a decade behind bars after severely injuring a family member and setting fire to their home.
Third District Judge Gabriel McCarthy sentenced 46-year-old Steven Delisle Jr., of Nampa, to 20 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 10, for aggravated battery and first-degree arson.
Delisle pleaded guilty to stabbing his father in April 2025 and lighting the family’s mobile home on fire in the 1000 block of 3rd Street North, according to a judgment of conviction.
His father survived the attack but was seriously injured.
“The victim was slashed open in the top of the head, slashed across the face, slashed across the bridge of the nose, had a puncture in the back and required stitches, had the broken scapula on his shoulder,” Canyon County prosecuting attorney Matthew Dyal said at Delisle’s sentencing last month.
The violent acts were triggered by Delisle’s father showing him a photo of his mother in the hospital and telling him it was his fault that she was going to die, according to defense attorney Shari Dodge.
Delisle told police that his intention was “not to kill his father but to put himself in a position where he could not turn back from killing himself,” according to the criminal complaint.
Dodge said she hoped the judge would consider Delisle’s professed remorse before sentencing him. Delisle quietly apologized in court and said he loved his father.
“He genuinely hoped that he would die in the fire, and then all of this would be over, and he would no longer be a burden to his family,” Dodge said.
Dyal argued that even if that were true, Delisle still intended to seriously injure his father. The prosecuting attorney requested that the judge sentence Delisle to 40 years fixed in prison.
Judge highlights substance abuse issues in sentencing
Both the prosecution and defense acknowledged Delisle’s longstanding issues with substance abuse and mental illness. He was using methamphetamine at the time of the crimes, according to the criminal complaint.
Delisle estimated that he had been hospitalized 40 times since moving to Idaho six years ago, and his defense attorney said he had tried to die by suicide 14 times in that same period.
Dodge said his sister wrote in a statement that when Delisle is “clean and sober and on his meds, he is funny, engaging and a good person to be around.”
Delisle’s difficulties can be traced back to a childhood that included abuse and poverty, leading to him eventually dropping out of middle school, according to Dodge. The attorney said the system had failed Delisle, with mental health facilities unable to help him before releasing him after just a couple of days.
The judge said his top priority was ensuring Delisle was in a position to remain sober.
“In your 45 years, you had a very traumatic childhood, and that understandably has had lifelong effect on you,” McCarthy said. “Based on all the information that’s in front of me, I’m not sure if you can remember the last time that you had an entire day where you were happy. That is tragic, that is heartbreaking.”
The judge said that Delisle could live a better life with sobriety.
“My goal is just to keep you sober for the next 30 years, and then if you make it into your 70s to the end of your parole ... I think you will have agreed that I did the right thing today,” McCarthy said.
