Idaho man charged in four killings suffers from mental illness, family says
Court documents filed in the case of a Southern Idaho man accused of murder in the deaths of four people showed that three of the victims were killed Tuesday with gunshots to the head, while the fourth — who was found in a truck — could have been fatally shot anywhere from July 3 to July 8.
Authorities said in criminal complaints filed in both Minidoka and Cassia counties that Benjamin Roy Naylor, 56, entered the homes of three of the victims Tuesday and shot them to death, and also was responsible for the fatal shooting of a man whose body was found in an SUV.
Naylor was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop in Lincoln County while deputies from Cassia and Minidoka counties, as well as members of the Rupert Police Department, were still investigating the homicides, according to a joint news release from law enforcement agencies.
The counties’ prosecutor offices said in a news release Wednesday that Naylor appeared in court and was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Preliminary hearings were set in both counties: 9 a.m. on Friday, July 18, in Cassia County and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, in Minidoka County.
Naylor is being held without bail at the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center in Burley. He could face the death penalty if prosecutors choose to seek it; he also could face life in prison.
On Thursday, four women, identifying themselves as Naylor’s three daughters and ex-wife, said that he suffers from schizophrenia, and in Facebook postings, they said the killings were “the worst type of ending imaginable for first and foremost his victims,” but also for everyone involved.
One of the daughters, Hannah Naylor, told the Idaho Statesman that the family wanted its statement to be public and used in stories related to Benjamin Naylor and his alleged crimes, and wanted to send condolences to the victims’ families.
Affidavits shed light on timeline, how Idaho police found Naylor
On Tuesday at about 3:30 p.m., Rupert police officers responded to a 911 call about a suspicious death at a home in the Minidoka County town. They found a woman in a bedroom at the home, dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to court records.
Doorbell camera footage from the home showed that at about 1:34 p.m., an adult male with a dark mustache and light beard, wearing a black cowboy hat, camouflage print jacket, dark-colored T-shirt and black shorts, approached the home and knocked on the front door. In an affidavit, police said the man’s face was visible, and he was identified as Naylor by a Minidoka County sheriff’s detective after the video was shared with other law enforcement agencies.
The footage showed the man had a yellow glove on his left hand and a handgun in his right hand, tucked under his jacket. It showed him leaving the home at about 1:51 p.m., the affidavit said.
Minidoka County deputies then searched an area in Heyburn where authorities believed Naylor had been recently. They found a body in a 2010 Ford Expedition and stated in a criminal complaint that the victim, a man, had been “shot and killed.” Court documents indicated that the man’s time of death could have been anywhere from July 3 to July 8.
At about 6:21 p.m. Tuesday, Cassia County deputies responded to a report of a shooting at a residence in Burley. A 66-year-old male was found dead in the living room and a 62-year-old woman was found dead inside a closet near the back of the house, according to court documents, with both having gunshot wounds to the head.
Deputies said in an affidavit that they obtained surveillance video that showed a gold 2013 Toyota Tundra pulling up to the curb across the street from the residence. A male driver exited the vehicle and walked into the home, and then was seen leaving a short time later, according to court documents.
Cassia County authorities identified the man as Naylor with the help of the Rupert Police Department, and found the vehicle was registered to Naylor, the affidavit said.
At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, after area law enforcement had been notified that police were seeking Naylor, a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy spotted the Tundra on Idaho Highway 24 and pulled the truck over. Naylor was driving the vehicle, and a handgun was found inside, according to court documents. Naylor was immediately arrested.
Suspect’s family offers condolences
Naylor’s daughters and their mother released a statement sharing their sadness with the families of the victims, and also said that Benjamin Naylor “lost his lifelong battle with a very severe mental illness.”
“This is the worst type of ending imaginable for first and foremost his victims, but also his family and first himself. We believe that once he has received proper psychiatric care he is going to realize the devastation he has caused, and he is going to have to live with this the rest of his life. We know that if he were in his right mind he would be horrified by his actions,” they wrote.
The Cassia County coroner told the Idaho Statesman that the victims’ identities would be released when they completed autopsies, which were being conducted in Ada County. Two of the victims have been identified in a GoFundMe that has been established, but the Statesman will not publish the four victims’ names until the coroner releases their identities.