People ‘very scared’ of suspect in students’ deaths

BOISE – A 21-year-old man accused of killing a University of Idaho student and under investigation in the killing of a Boise State University student had been described as behaving erratically recently, authorities say.

“There were a lot of people who were very scared of him,” Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney told the Idaho Statesman.

John Joseph Delling was arrested Tuesday by police in Sparks, Nev., on a stolen car warrant issued by Ada County and a first-degree murder warrant issued by Moscow, Idaho, police in the death of UI senior David Boss, a former high school classmate of Delling. Boss, a 21-year-old history major, was killed early Saturday in his off-campus apartment, shot twice in the head, police said.

Police have also identified Delling as a suspect in the death of Bradley Morse, 25, whose body was found Tuesday in a Boise city park pond near the Idaho Shakespeare Festival grounds.

It is unclear whether Delling and Morse knew each other.

When investigators asked Boss’ father, Richard Boss, if anyone might want to kill his son, the elder Boss suggested Delling, Moscow police Officer Tyson Berrett wrote in a sworn statement.

Delling had been irrational and delusional during a visit to the Boss family’s Boise home over Christmas break, the father told Berrett.

“He said Delling and his son grew up together in Boise, ID, and had limited contact with each other while they both attended the University of Idaho,” Berrett wrote. “Richard described Delling as having a violent disposition.”

Delling’s brother, Eric Delling, told police that during a visit to their parents’ home in Antelope, Calif., John Delling was acting strangely.

Eric Delling recalled his brother asking ” ‘do you think David is the one stealing my powers?’ ” Berrett wrote, adding, “Eric said that wasn’t the first time John commented on someone stealing his power or aura.”

Delling was being held Thursday in the Washoe County, Nev., jail.

Washoe County Assistant District Attorney John Helzer said Thursday he is declining to prosecute Delling on the stolen vehicle charge to clear the way for him to be extradited to Idaho, and that Delling was now being held on the murder warrant.

He said the extradition process would likely begin Tuesday and would only be temporarily delayed if Delling contested.

“It won’t take too long to get him back there,” Helzer said.

Tom Miller of the Sparks Police Department said the vehicle, a 2006 Mazda 323, had been searched by Idaho authorities and was being taken back to Idaho for additional processing.

Delling has been charged with first-degree murder in Idaho’s 2nd District Court, and prosecutors there said they plan to have Delling brought to Moscow to face that charge.

“As soon as he is available to come back to Moscow we’ll make arrangements to get him here,” Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said on Thursday.

He said his office will likely coordinate with Ada County prosecutors.

Raney said that after Delling’s arrest, the Sheriff’s Office began getting calls from acquaintances of Delling saying they had noticed recent dramatic mood swings and erratic behavior.

Before his arrest, Delling had contact with police dating back to at least 2005.

In March 2005, Delling reported to Moscow police that he had been assaulted, said David Duke, assistant police chief.

A month later, Delling was cited for misdemeanor disturbing the peace and kicked out of the university and prohibited from coming onto the campus for at least a year after being accused of threatening residents in dorms, Duke said. The charge was later dropped.

In June 2005, Delling pleaded guilty to stalking three Boise men and was ordered to have no contact with them. He completed 80 hours of community service.

One of the men was Allyn Sweeney, a Boise lawyer, who said the three men were so concerned about Delling that they installed security and surveillance systems at their homes.

“I was pretty alarmed at the guy being around,” Sweeney said. “He’s just one of these very scary people. I’m certainly not surprised at the apparent result.”

Sweeney said the tires on his vehicle were slashed, but he could never prove Delling had done it.

Also in 2005, Delling was convicted of misdemeanor battery after using his motorcycle in an attempt to run over a 13-year-old boy. As a result, he spent at least two months in jail, was on probation for a year and went through an anger-management course ordered by the court.