NEED TO KNOW
- Jeremy Albert Best was sentenced last week to three consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole
- The sentencings come after Best pleaded guilty in February to killing his pregnant wife, the couple’s unborn child, and their 10-month-old son Zeke
- The 2023 murder led to a two-day manhunt that ended when Best was found naked next to his dead baby boy
Jeremy Albert Best has been sentenced to three consecutive terms of life in prison for the Nov. 2023 murders of his pregnant wife, their unborn child and the couple’s 10-month-old son.
Best, 50, reportedly apologized to his wife’s family and his own at the sentencing hearing last Thursday, according to local ABC 8, CBS 2, and Jackson Hole Radio.
The Idaho man pleaded guilty in February to shooting his pregnant wife Kali Jean Randall dead from behind on Nov. 30 before fleeing the home with their 10-month-old son Zeke.
Police searched for Best and his son Zeke for two days before a group of hunters came across the father naked in the snow alongside a local highway and muttering incoherently with baby Zeke laying dead nearby, PEOPLE reported at the time.
Best pleaded guilty earlier this year as part of an agreement that guaranteed he would avoid the death penalty, according to local KTVB 7. The outlet reported that Best’s sentencing comes without the possibility of parole.
“This was the justice we hoped for,” said Teton County Prosecuting Attorney Bailey Smith Baker, according to Jackson Hole Radio. “We are pleased that the Court gave a life sentence for each victim.”
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Randall’s family said in a statement after Best’s arrest in Dec. 2023 that “the pain we feel is unimaginable” after the expecting mother was found dead inside the family’s home in Victor, Idaho.
Officers responded to the home after someone called police and quickly hung up. A woman’s voice could be heard screaming, “Jeremy! Jeremy, no!” on the brief 911 call, PEOPLE previously reported.
Randall was 38 at the time of her death.
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Randall’s brother Brian Randall had told PEOPLE after his sister’s death that she “was absolutely a genuine beautiful soul” and that he never suspected Best, her husband, of being anything but “a normal guy.”
Brian told PEOPLE that his sister had met Best in 2009. The couple married in September 2022, her social media posts show. Kali was an artist who made handcrafted jewelry and formerly worked as a veterinarian technician, her brother told PEOPLE.
“Sometimes maybe you don’t know people,” Brian said, noting there had been no known conflicts between the married couple.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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