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IDAHO FALLS — The defense attorney for Jeremy Best, a man indicted for the murders of his wife, her unborn child, and their 10-month-old son, argues in newly filed court documents that Best did not kill them out of malice but instead had a mental breakdown.
In a motion to dismiss the indictment against Best filed on Tuesday, defense attorney and public defender Jim Archibald argues a grand jury should reconvene due to the lack of consideration for the charges, evidence and witnesses presented during the indictment proceedings.
Best, 48, was indicted by a grand jury in Teton County on Dec. 18 for three counts of murder in the first degree and three enhancements for the use of a firearm or other deadly weapon during the commission of a crime. He is accused of killing his wife, Kali Randall, her unborn baby, and their 10-month-old son, Zeke Best. Best previously pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
Because grand jury proceedings are sealed, there is little information about what happened inside the indictment proceedings. But recently filed court documents reveal new details about the alleged motive, or perhaps as Archibald states, "lack thereof," behind the killings.
Archibald argues the grand jury did not consider Best's mental health during the grand jury proceedings.
Before the alleged killings, Best was detained at the Swan Valley General store on Nov. 30 after being found naked and confused inside the store.
"The fact that defendant had been detained on the day in question at a store in Swan Valley, Idaho, where he was found delirious and confused and naked, and then detained by law enforcement and taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, was not considered by the grand jury," says Archibald in the newly filed motion. "The mental health breakdown of the defendant deals directly with premeditation and malice."
The motion also confirms Kali Randall and Zeke Best, picked him up from the medical center after he was detained.
"There is no evidence that the defendant harbored any ill will toward his wife or his child, who came to pick him up at EIRMC when the hospital would not keep him," says the motion.
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center issued a statement on Dec. 5, saying it followed the protocol for a patient like Best, who came to the hospital with behavioral health concerns.
"Like all hospitals, we follow specific standards of care when we assess and treat individuals, including those with behavioral health concerns," the EIRMC statement says. "Idaho law limits law enforcement, hospitals, and healthcare providers from placing individuals on a protective custody hold unless specific clinical criteria (are) met. When these factors are not present or apparent at the time of the care process, hospitals cannot legally hold a patient against their or their family's wishes."
A day after the incident in Swan Valley, Randall and her unborn baby were found dead at the Best home in Victor, Idaho, and Zeke was declared missing. Best was later found naked in a sleeping bag along a rural Bonneville County road on Dec. 2. Zeke was found dead nearby, according to law enforcement.
Archibald argues there are witnesses to the Best's relationship that would have testified to them "having a great relationship" before the alleged killings.
"If the grand jury would have investigated as the law states they should have, they would have found a host of witnesses who would say that defendant had a great relationship with his wife, and that but for the defendant's mental health breakdown, this incident would not have happened," says Archibald in the court filing.
Archibald also claims that the indictment should be dismissed due to the grand jury only considering a charge of first-degree murder and not second-degree murder.
"The difference between first-degree murder and second-degree murder are the separate elements of premeditation and malice," states Archibald in the court filing. "First-degree murder requires both premeditation and malice, second-degree murder does not require either one."
Archibald argues the grand jury should also consider the charge of manslaughter in place of first-degree murder, as manslaughter does not require someone to have premeditated the murder or committed it with malice.
"There is proof that the case against the defendant lacked both premeditation and malice," states the court filing.
Best is expected to appear in court for a status conference on March 14. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Teton County Prosecutor Bailey Smith for comment and have not received a response.
