BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 28, 2023 (East Idaho News/Gephardt Daily) – Jeremy Best has been found competent to stand trial for the alleged murder of his wife, her unborn baby, and their 10-month-old son.
According to court documents, Idaho 7th District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. received the results of the competency evaluation and ordered Best has been found “fit to proceed,” East Idaho News reported Wednesday. Arraignment has been scheduled for Best via Zoom on Jan. 3 at 1 p.m.
Best, 48, was indicted by a grand jury in Teton County on 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.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Best was taken into custody Dec. 2, according to a news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office at the time.
Bonneville County Dispatch received a call from a group of hunters at about 9:15 a.m. that day, the caller stating they had found a man in a sleeping bag on the side of the road, later identified as Best.
“The caller stated the man was naked and making odd statements,” at the scene, in the area of Kepps Crossing Road, near the Dan Creek Road east of Idaho Falls. “Deputies also located Zeke Best, who was dead.”
Best’s wife and Zeke’s mother, Kali Jean Randall, had been found dead in the Best home in Victor, Idaho, a few days earlier.
Best, police say, took Zeke and went on the run after killing Randall.
