I appreciate your reply and breakdown!
I think it's because when he was first arrested there was so much talk <modsnip> casting him as "brilliant," and generally that he was in a doctoral program (in criminal justice, no less). Those things got people calling him a criminal genius of the highest sort, and lots of speculation about his being super-smart, etc., when the reality is that he might be, or he might think he is, but his academic track record was not exactly exceptional, though he performed well in a non-selective online masters program (except for that pesky final thesis he failed to complete but was passed anyway). So the reactions really are to the disconnect between being a PhD student for criminal justice and getting pretty quickly arrested for a crime he seemed to have taken some pains to plan, and to suppositions about his self-perception.
Could it be that he thought LE might do a “digital sweep” of the crime scene area the night of the murders to get leads, so he turned it off? He never thought they would otherwise zone in on him, so he thought it wouldn’t matter if he turned on his phone once out of the area the night of the crime, or the next day? (Similar to how technology was used to see who was in the area of the Capitol on January 6th).
IMO…the plot thickens…..
Agreed 100 % with the bolded.
IMO, or BK was suspicious of someone else who might to do it. Think “Strangers on a Train”
I'm reserving judgment on BK being the author at this point in time MOO
This is my opinion only. BK would avoid a situation where he is clearly out of place--too old, knows no one, etc. Also, BK's apparently felt very superior to the undergraduates whose work he graded in his role as TA. I can't see him wanting to socialize with fraternity boys. And finally, around any university there are bars where graduate students go and hang out with their peers. I did my grad work at an urban university; there were (among other options) two adjacent bars, one usually frequented by faculty and grad students and the other by undergrads. There was of course some overlap there, but if BK wanted social contact, he could have found bars and clubs in Pullman or Moscow rather than go to frat parties.
Prosecutor has 60 days from the time BK enters a plea to say if he will seek DP.The State does not have to offer you the option of pleading guilty. That is your right.
In Idaho, it appears that after a guilty finding (whether by trial or by plea) for matters that could result in a death sentence (murder in first degree), there is a separate investigation and hearing on the sentencing that entails a whole picture of the situation, from defendant's background to victim family statements/impact. Specifically they look for statutory aggravating factors as well as mitigating factors. If there is a statutory aggravating factor (multiple murders is the second one listed, but there are 11 or 12) and any mitigating factors don't exist that, weighed as a whole, would make death an unjust penalty, the sentence is death. If aggravating exists and sufficient mitigating, LWOP. If no aggravating, life (minimum 10 years).
Section 19-2515 – Idaho State Legislature
legislature.idaho.gov
Mitigation is defined in jury instructions for a DP sentencing hearing this way:
That said, in reality the death penalty even in Idaho is rare, and actual executions rarer still. Most die on death row, or have sentences reduced on appeal, or sometimes exonerated. There hasn't been an execution in Idaho 10 years, and iirc one recently scheduled was canceled for lack of drug availability. They've only carried out 3 executions since 1957 (1994, 2011, 2012). There are 8 people on death row as of December 2022, but although between 2011-2019 there were 173 DP-eligible convictions, only one resulted in a sentence of death.
The Declining Death Penalty in Idaho
Jacqueline Lee earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland...www.boisestate.edu
DP prosecutions are extremely expensive and politically fraught (likewise death sentences themselves; it is appeal after appeal usually). I doubt the prosecution will take it off the table anytime soon, but I also doubt they really want to ask for a death sentence if they get a guilty. The prosecution has to file a notice of intent to seek the DP, and I'm not clear on when that happens, though I assume it could be withdrawn at any point prior to actual sentencing.
thenationaldesk.com
Really, there was a confluence of factors that put BK on LE's radar: the identification of a white Elantra, the bit of DNA on the sheath snap, and the cell phone records showing him so often in that area. Without the Elantra and the DNA, the phone would not have come into play. That said, who knows why he didn't realize the car was going to five him say? My opinion only.
Although it is on the books, there is currently no effective DP in Idaho. It's because manufacturers of the drugs don't want the bad PR of supplying. Because of this, Idaho called off the execution of Gerald Pizzuto, Jr. in December.
Yea, the road to identifying him began with the car IMO
IMO, yet another reason (set of reasons) BK could have decided to commit the murders in Idaho -- likely to escape the death penalty if he got caught. JMOOThe State does not have to offer you the option of pleading guilty. That is your right.
In Idaho, it appears that after a guilty finding (whether by trial or by plea) for matters that could result in a death sentence (murder in first degree), there is a separate investigation and hearing on the sentencing that entails a whole picture of the situation, from defendant's background to victim family statements/impact. Specifically they look for statutory aggravating factors as well as mitigating factors. If there is a statutory aggravating factor (multiple murders is the second one listed, but there are 11 or 12) and any mitigating factors don't exist that, weighed as a whole, would make death an unjust penalty, the sentence is death. If aggravating exists and sufficient mitigating, LWOP. If no aggravating, life (minimum 10 years).
Section 19-2515 – Idaho State Legislature
Mitigation is defined in jury instructions for a DP sentencing hearing this way:
That said, in reality the death penalty even in Idaho is rare, and actual executions rarer still. Most die on death row, or have sentences reduced on appeal, or sometimes exonerated. There hasn't been an execution in Idaho 10 years, and iirc one recently scheduled was canceled for lack of drug availability. They've only carried out 3 executions since 1957 (1994, 2011, 2012). There are 8 people on death row as of December 2022, but although between 2011-2019 there were 173 DP-eligible convictions, only one resulted in a sentence of death.
The Declining Death Penalty in Idaho
Jacqueline Lee earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland...
DP prosecutions are extremely expensive and politically fraught (likewise death sentences themselves; it is appeal after appeal usually). I doubt the prosecution will take it off the table anytime soon, but I also doubt they really want to ask for a death sentence if they get a guilty. The prosecution has to file a notice of intent to seek the DP, and I'm not clear on when that happens, though I assume it could be withdrawn at any point prior to actual sentencing.
Someone upthread said it was only like 20 degrees that morning, so maybe he didn't want to sit in the cold, especially if he had an all black outfit he was wearing that didn't include a coat. Also, I don't think he planned to be parked anywhere for very long. That runs the risk of being noticed, too. Not knowing how long it was going to take for them to go to bed, maybe he just thought he'd watch awhile. Who knows what was in his mind. Honestly, he probably figured they'd be in bed by the time he got there at 3:30, so wasn't sure what to do when he saw they weren't.
