Man sentenced to 21 years in prison for killing his father in Spokane

A 40-year-old man who fatally stabbed his father in 2024 at an East Central Spokane apartment was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Damian C. Eiffert pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III handed down the 257-month sentence.

Neighbors found Robert Eiffert, 61, the afternoon of Oct. 22, 2024, lying in the doorway of an apartment building at 29 S. Thor St., according to court documents.

One neighbor told police he saw Robert Eiffert lying on the front porch and that Damian Eiffert left the residence, jumped over Robert Eiffert’s bloody body and drove away in the father’s car. The elder Eiffert died at the residence.

Raeline Eiffert, Damian Eiffert’s mother, told police she received a phone call from her son shortly after the murder and that he was “amped up and all over the place” during the call. He told her he asked his father for a ride to treatment, but he wouldn’t take him. Damian Eiffert admitted to smoking methamphetamine and getting high while also being ill from opioid withdrawal.

Damian Eiffert told her he could not stand his dad anymore and stabbed him to death, the mother told police.

Police said the father was stabbed in the neck, head and chest, court records show.

Detectives searched the home and found a blood trail from the building entrance where Robert Eiffert was found to a recliner in the apartment. Police believe the assault started when Robert Eiffert was seated in the recliner, according to documents.

A steak knife was on the living room floor in front of the recliner.

Damian Eiffert’s ex-girlfriend told police she also got a call from Damian Eiffert on his father’s phone that afternoon saying he was outside her home waiting in the alley.

She met him in the alley, and Damian Eiffert gave her a hug and said, “I love you … I just killed my dad.”

He then got in a car and left.

Damian Eiffert engaged in a standoff with law enforcement on the side of Interstate 90 the next morning. He tried to run before he was captured.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Degen told the court at Damian Eiffert’s first appearance that he had eight felony convictions at the time of his arrest. He also had two warrants for his arrest prior to being arrested on the murder charge.

The 21-year sentence was the low end of the standard sentence range. The high end was nearly 30 years.