VICTOR, Idaho — The attorney for triple murder suspect Jeremy Best asked the court Thursday to dismiss his indictment for murder in the first degree on the grounds that his mental health should have been more heavily considered and investigated, therefore potentially downgrading his indictment charges to those of second-degree murder.
"The grand jury should have considered second-degree murder, as there is proof that the case against the defendant lacked both premeditation and malice," Best's attorney, John Archibald, argued in his motion requesting that the court dismiss the grand jury indictment.
The argument, yet again, bringing Best's mental state to the forefront of the case as potentially his strongest defense.
Jeremy Albert Best, 48, is facing six charges related to the murders of his pregnant wife (found dead on Nov. 30) and their 10-month-old son Zeke, whose precise death date unknown. However, his corpse was recovered on Dec. 2.
Due to the heinous nature of the crime and bizarre circumstances that occurred both prior to the murders and the days following, the presiding judge ordered on Dec. 4 that Best undergo a mental competency evaluation conducted by the Department of Health and Welfare.
On Dec. 22, Best had been found mentally fit and cleared to continue court proceedings facing the first-degree murder charges as listed in his grand jury indictment.
However, although previously cleared, Archibald listed three specific reasons in his argument as to why Best's mental health should be brought into consideration and why those would potentially modify his charges.
The first being the fact Best had been arrested just hours prior to the murders after he found delirious, confused and naked at a convenience store.
The second justification from Archibald stated that "there is no evidence that defendant harbored any ill will toward his wife or his child." He went on to say there is 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."
The third reasoning for the requested motion to dismiss the indictment stated that there is evidence that an argument had occurred between Jeremy Best and his wife, Kali, and that (if were the case) a sudden argument would define Kali's death as manslaughter, not first-degree murder.
Idaho law states the difference between first-degree murder and second-degree murder are the separate elements of premeditation and malice. First-degree murder requires both premeditation and malice, second-degree murder does not require either one.
"For these and other reasons to be argued at a hearing herein, the court should dismiss the indictment and reconvene the grand jury so that murder in the second degree and manslaughter can be investigated and considered by the grand jury," Archibald concluded.
In addition to the motion to dismiss the indictment, Archibald also requested that the death penalty not be filed in Best's case. Which, if the charges were to be reduced, the death penalty would no longer be an option.
Best was charged in connection with the deaths of his pregnant wife, Kali Jean Best, and the unborn child she was pregnant with in a hearing on Dec. 4. He was later charged for the murder of Zeke.
In addition to the three counts of murder in the first degree, he was also charged with three counts of use of a firearm or other deadly weapon during the commission of a crime.
As KTVB previously reported, on Nov. 30, Teton County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to a home located at 4600 Skyline Loop in Victor, where Best's 38-year-old pregnant wife Kali Best was found dead.
On Dec. 1, an AMBER Alert was issued for Zeke Best.
The following morning, officers with the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office located Best after a group of hunters found him on the side of the road in a sleeping bag. The caller said the man "was naked and making odd statements," according to a news release.
When police arrived, they found Best's car in a nearby embankment. Zeke was found dead in the area near the vehicle. An affidavit later stated that Best killed his 10-month-old son by “inflicting an injury on Zeke Gregory Best’s neck using a knife and thereby causing his death.” It is still unclear when or where Zeke died.
After his arrest, Best appeared shirtless for his first court appearance via Zoom from jail. It was at that time the court ordered the mental competency evaluation.
Best faces up to life in prison or the death penalty for the murder charges.
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