DRIGGS, Idaho — Jeremy Best was sentenced on Thursday, July 24, to three consecutive life sentences for the triple homicide he committed almost two years ago.
On November 30, 2023, Best killed his pregnant wife and kidnapped their infant in Victor, Idaho. On Dec. 2, Best was located and arrested, and the infant was found deceased near Idaho Falls. Two days later, Best was charged with two counts of first degree murder for his wife and unborn child, which were updated to three counts of murder in the first degree on Dec. 19. Best initially pled not guilty to the charges. He entered a guilty plea in February of this year, at which point the death penalty was no longer on the table.
Best, 50, was sentenced by Seventh Judicial District Judge Dane H. Watkins, Jr., to three life sentences without the possibility of parole for first degree murder for the death of 10-month-old Zeke Best, and second degree murder for the deaths of his wife Kali Randall Best and her unborn child, Freya.
“This was the justice we hoped for,” Teton County (Idaho) Prosecuting Attorney Bailey Smith Baker said in a statement. “We are pleased that the Court gave a life sentence for each victim, and we will sleep tonight knowing the Defendant will never be able to do this to anyone else.”
The sentencing came at the end of a two-day sentencing hearing, during which 18 witnesses testified and five family members delivered impact statements, according to the announcement.
“This crime affected everyone who knew and loved Kali and Zeke, the law enforcement and first responders, and the citizens of Teton and Bonneville counties,” Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal said in a statement. “They all became victims of Jeremy Best’s crimes.”
