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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Arrest made in UI slaying

John Miller Associated Press

BOISE – A 21-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on a first-degree murder warrant in the weekend killing of a University of Idaho student. A check of the victim’s cell phone records led to the arrest.

John Joseph Delling, whose last known address was Antelope, Calif., was arrested about 4 p.m. Tuesday by police in Sparks, Nev., said Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke.

David Robert Boss, a 21-year-old from Boise, was found dead early Saturday in the kitchen of his apartment near the Moscow campus. He’d been shot twice in the head at close range, police said. There was no evidence of forced entry.

A telephone registered to Delling, who knew Boss when the pair attended high school in Boise and later college in Moscow, made a phone call to the victim at 12:12 a.m. Saturday, Duke said.

That was about the time Boss was believed to have been slain, the assistant police chief said. Moscow police worked with telephone company Sprint in order to trace Delling to Sparks.

“A motive hasn’t been determined at this point,” said Duke, adding detectives from the Moscow Police Department were en route to northern Nevada to interview Delling.

Delling was a UI student until 2005, Duke said, adding the man has at least one relative in Moscow.

Boss was last seen alive about 8:30 p.m. Friday, and was thought to have died between midnight Friday and 12:30 a.m. Saturday, based on reports of upstairs neighbors who said they heard a noise at about that time. Boss’ roommate found him on the floor about 1:45 a.m. and called for help, but medical personnel declared Boss dead at the scene.

Duke said interviews with other people in Moscow identified Delling as a “person of interest” in the case.

Boss, a history major, was due to graduate in May.

No weapon has been found, but Duke said Nevada authorities have secured a Nissan automobile. They plan to search the vehicle for possible evidence.