David L. Randall convicted of Darla Fletcher’s murder
David L. Randall (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
A 60-year-old Idaho man could spend the rest of his life behind bars for torturing and killing his ex-girlfriend shortly after their breakup. Fourth Circuit District Judge Steven Hippler on Friday ordered David L. Randall to be sentenced to 25 years in prison for the brutal 2019 killing of 56-year-old Darla Fletcher, authorities said.
The verdict follows prosecutors’ recommendations after Randall signed a plea deal in December 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and an amendment to the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony in Fletcher’s death, court documents reviewed by the Law&Crime Show.
According to a press release from the Ada County Attorney’s Office, Judge Hippler addressed the court before sentencing. Noting Randall’s “conspicuous” lack of remorse for his horrific crime, he said Randall still “poses a great danger to the community.”
Randall was originally arrested on December 16, 2019 at his home in Boise — the same home he and Fletcher lived in together when they were a couple. Authorities said they split about a month before Fletcher’s violent death.
“The defendant and the victim had recently ended their relationship when Ms. Fletcher drove to their previously shared residence to retrieve some belongings,” prosecutors wrote in the press release. “As she entered the house, Ms. Fletcher was attacked, tortured, stabbed and beaten to death by Mr. Randall.”
When Fletcher didn’t show up for work on December 16, her son became concerned and started looking for her. He eventually found her dead at Randall’s home, Boise NBC affiliate KTVB reported.
Court documents obtained by the Idaho Statesman reportedly state that Randall stabbed Fletcher “over 50 times with a screwdriver and a drumstick” during the attack.
“I offer my deepest condolences to Ms. Fletchers’ family and friends,” Ada County Attorney Jan Bennetts said in a statement. “This brutal domestic murder has weighed heavily on the victim’s family and friends, our office and the community for over three years now. I am proud of the hard work that my trial team and the Boise Police Department homicide detectives did to ensure that justice was ultimately served in this case.”
Four months after completing the plea agreement, Randall — who claimed to have been suffering from psychosis caused by schizophrenia at the time of the murder — attempted to get the plea deal set aside, the Statesman reported.
“Immediately after pleading guilty, I realized I had made a terrible mistake,” Randall reportedly wrote in the affidavit attempting to withdraw the plea. The filing also reportedly cites a letter to Randall’s son on the day he signed the agreement, in which he said the guilty plea was the “worst day” of his life and a “big mistake.”
However, Judge Hippler denied the request, noting that several months had passed since the agreement was signed. He further reasoned that Randall entered into the agreement “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily” and said Randall simply felt “buyer’s remorse” at the consequences he was facing, the Statesman reported.
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https://lawandcrime.com/crime/man-who-fatally-stabbed-ex-girlfriend-50-times-with-a-screwdriver-and-a-drumstick-learns-his-fate/ David L. Randall convicted of Darla Fletcher’s murder
