Judges rules on motion to dismiss Jeremy Best’s murder charges due to “mental health breakdown”

VICTOR — A judge has denied a request from a man charged with the murder of his pregnant wife and son to dismiss his entire indictment and reconvene a grand jury.

Jeremy Best, 48, was indicted by a grand jury in Teton County on Dec. 18 for three counts of murder in the first degree and three enhancements for the use of a firearm or other deadly weapon during the commission of a crime. He is accused of killing his wife, Kali Randall, her unborn baby, and their 10-month-old son, Zeke Best.

RELATED | Jeremy Best defense argues killings were due to alleged mental breakdown

Jim Archibald, Best’s public defender, filed the motion to dismiss on Jan. 30, stating that Best “experienced a mental health breakdown on the day in question, and the grand jury should have considered murder in the second degree or manslaughter as alternatives to first-degree murder,” according to filing.

District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. heard arguments on June 11 as to whether or not a grand jury should be reconvened again to determine if Best should be indicted on another charge.

According to Watkins’ order on the motion, Archibald argued that the grand jury did not take into account:

• “(Best’s) disoriented behavior while naked at the general store in Swan Valley on Nov. 30, 2023.”
• “The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office’s transportation of him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center following his detention in Swan Valley.”
• “The existence of numerous witnesses who would testify he had a great relationship with his wife.”
• “The fact that a sudden quarrel arose between him and his wife.”

Grand jury proceedings are sealed, so there is little information about what was presented before Best’s indictment.

Watkins wrote that the evidence presented during the grand jury proceedings supported their findings of the counts he was charged with and that additional evidence does not directly negate guilt.

“The grand jury had sufficient evidence before it to establish probable cause for the crime of first-degree murder. Dismissal of the indictment is improper,” states Watkins in the order. “The prosecution was not required to present the grand jury with circumstantial defense evidence or instruct the grand jury regarding lesser included offenses.”

Best is scheduled for a jury trial on Sept. 15, 2025.

Background

According to court documents, on Nov. 30, a deputy with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to 4600 Skyline Loop in Victor for a report of a 911 hang-up call.

Dispatch told the deputy there were “loud sounds of yelling in the background of the phone call and then silence.”

A deputy arrived at the house and spoke to a neighbor who said he heard a man and woman fighting across the street.

He identified Jeremy and Kali as the house’s residents and said they had a 7-to 8-month-old child, Zeke.

The neighbor reportedly heard Kali yell, “Jeremy, stop it, you have a baby!” before hearing “about five gunshots that sounded like they came from outside.”

The deputy walked down the driveway, where he located a Kali “laying on her left side on the ground under the lean-to of the east side of the north shop.”

He reportedly noticed a large pool of blood underneath and around the body, which was lying next to an open door to the shop.

According to court documents, the body had what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds in the area of her right breast and right side. The deputy rolled the body over and attempted CPR, but was unsuccessful.

The neighbor confirmed he saw a black Chevrolet Tahoe leaving the house. Deputies confirmed Kali was the registered owner of a 1995 black Chevy Tahoe with Idaho license plate #1T39349, registered to the same house’s address.

Deputies found a white Chevrolet car on the property, which Best is said to have been driving at 11:56 a.m. that same day, when Bonneville County deputies responded to a call in Swan Valley where Jeremy “appeared unclothed in the Swan Valley General Store,” according to court documents.

He was evaluated by EMS on scene and taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center by ambulance, according to a news release. A deputy followed the ambulance, and Best was turned over to hospital staff for further medical and mental health concerns.

The Teton County coroner was able to confirm with Kali’s OB-GYN provider that she was 28 weeks pregnant as of the day she died.

On Dec. 2, a group of hunters called Bonneville County dispatch, saying they found a naked man in a sleeping bag on the side of the road, according to a news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office.

Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area, which was on Kepps Crossing Road, near the Dan Creek Road east of Idaho Falls. After making contact with the hunters, deputies identified the man as Best.

The black Chevy SUV Best had been driving was found nearby. Deputies also located Zeke Best, who was dead. It is still unclear if Zeke’s body was in the SUV.