Prosecutor: No death penalty if Delling convicted

BOISE – John Delling, accused of killing a Boise man he met over the Internet, will not face the death penalty if convicted, Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower says.

Delling is to stand trial next April in 4th District Court on a first-degree murder charge in the April 2 slaying of Bradley Morse in Boise. He also is charged with first-degree murder in Latah County for the March 31 shooting death of University of Idaho student David Boss in Moscow and is a suspect in the March 20 shooting that injured University of Arizona student Jacob Thompson in Tucson.

Bower said Tuesday that if Delling is convicted, he anticipates defense lawyers will present mitigating evidence that could override death sentence arguments.

“It is such a high burden of proof for us,” Bower told the Idaho Statesman.

He declined to say what those mitigating factors might be, but Delling’s mental health could be a factor at the trial.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson did not immediately return a call on Thursday about whether Delling would face the death penalty in the Moscow shooting. Delling’s attorneys, Amil Myshin and Gus Cahill, could not be reached for comment.

Following his capture in northern Nevada in April, Delling’s parents said their son was mentally ill. His brother, Eric Delling, told police in early April that Delling had asked him recently if he thought Boss was “stealing his powers.” John Delling had previously voiced concerns about people “stealing his aura,” Eric Delling said.

In a jailhouse interview with the Statesman in June, Delling said he drove more than 6,000 miles around the western United States looking for people who had hurt him in the past. Delling, Thompson and Boss were classmates at a Boise high school, and Delling met Morse over the Internet through video games the two played, police have said.

“I’m pretty much possessed,” Delling told the newspaper. “I have no control over my body.”

Idaho law bars insanity defenses, but Delling’s mental health could sway a jury against a death penalty. He could still be sent to prison for life without possibility of parole if convicted on the murder charges.

Under Idaho law, a jury must be unanimous in a decision to impose the death penalty.

“All it takes is one juror,” Bower said.