Man sentenced for home invasion that ended with murder of Rexburg father
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REXBURG – Attendees in the courtroom gallery sat shoulder to shoulder, trying to find an open seat as a 20-year-old was sentenced Monday for the murder of a Rexburg man and the attempted murder of his wife during a 2021 home invasion.
District Judge Steven Boyce sentenced Pierre Lake to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison for the first-degree murder charge. For the attempted first-degree murder charge, Lake was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Both sentences will run concurrently, and Lake will receive credit for 860 days of time already served.
Lake was initially charged with felony first-degree murder, felony attempted first-degree murder, felony burglary, and felony grand theft after he shot Ralph Brian in the head and stabbed Karen Brian multiple times during a September 2021 home invasion in Madison County.
Karen survived the attack, but Ralph died a few days later.
As part of a plea agreement, Lake agreed to plead guilty to felony first-degree murder and felony attempted first-degree murder if the prosecution would drop the remaining two charges and recommend a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison at sentencing.
The agreement was binding, meaning that because Boyce accepted it, he could not change the recommended sentence.
Sentencing
Many members of the Brian family spoke to Boyce and often directly to Lake during the sentencing, beginning with Karen, who Lake stabbed multiple times during the invasion.
Karen spoke as her four children stood around her for support, saying that her family and friends are what will keep her strong through the upcoming years.
“Ralph Brian was my beloved husband, sweetheart, and best friend of almost 40 years, it would have been,” said Karen. “Every birthday, anniversary, holiday, and special occasion is only going to bring back a lot of things. Your honor, much has been taken from this family. It’s been almost two and a half years, but it still feels just like yesterday.”
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Karen listed how their lives have changed since Ralph’s death.
“How life will be changed moving forward – I won’t get to talk or laugh with the man that I love the most. I won’t be able to go on trips with him to see my grand babies. We won’t be able to build our dream house and live a long retirement together. Our traditional family get-togethers, camping trips, four-wheeler rides, birthdays and celebrations will always be missing the life of the party,” she said.
One of Karen and Ralph’s daughters spoke next, surrounded by her mother and siblings, expressing things her own children will miss out on now that their grandfather is gone.
“I will never see my father again. I won’t be able to laugh at his jokes or cry on his shoulder. I won’t get to see him at all of our Sunday dinners,” said the daughter. “My older kids will have memories and experiences with their grandpa, but my youngest children will never have that. My mom lost the love of her life.”
Ralph’s brother spoke next, often pausing to look over at Lake as he addressed him.
“He was a great guy. It’s sad to think he isn’t here anymore. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss him. You know what, I’ll pray for you, man. Because you’ll need it to get through what you’re going through,” said Ralph’s brother. “I hope you can find that peace that you’re gonna need. When the day comes that you have to answer to the other side, you need to be prepared.”
Ralph’s sister spoke last, looking at Lake as she asked him why he had murdered her brother.
“My sister, who couldn’t be here, wanted me to ask you why? Why did you do something so cruel?” asked Ralph’s sister. “You took a husband, you took a father, you took a grandfather, away from his family. Do you understand that?”
She continued, describing the emergency room on the day her brother was killed.
“I sat there, I walked into the emergency room, and I watched my brother’s head bleed profusely, and that is just never going to go away,” said Ralph’s sister. “I watched my sister-in-law struggle because of all of the damage that you did to her arm by stabbing her. Why? Do you even know?”
Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood recommended a sentence of a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison, arguing that Lake should not even be considered for parole before his 30-year mark due to the nature of the crimes and the impact on the community.
“Your honor, I think this is the third time in a year I’ve stood here in front of the court and asked the question, what is the value of a life? And the answer is that a life is invaluable,” said Wood. “What is justice for a victim when they’re murdered? And the reality is that nothing we do today will feel fair, and nothing we do today will feel like true justice, because nothing we do today will bring Ralph Brian back.”
Lake’s public defender, Jim Archibald, spoke about his client, describing him as a nice young man and apologizing to the family for the delay in proceedings due to the Lori Vallow Daybell case.
“We had another case that included me, the court, and the prosecutor, and that case was the primary reason that this case kept getting bumped back, said Archibald. “So, to the Brian family, I apologize for the delay. It certainly wasn’t meant to torment you all.”
Archibald choked up as he spoke about the first time he met his client, saying he doesn’t know why the crime occurred in the first place.
“The first time I met my client, he was a scared eighteen-year-old kid. A teenager. I was just thinking to myself, how did you get here? How are you accused of such shocking, horrible facts?” said Archibald. “To me, he was just a nice, friendly teenage kid. He’s always been good to me, he’s been good to his family on his phone calls, he has absolutely no excuse and no justification for what happened here.”
Lake spoke to the court and the Brian family, apologizing and expressing his hopes for rehabilitation.
“I’ll never really understand what I did take that day. I hope I can get to the point where I come close to understanding. There is no excuse for what I did to your family,” said Lake. “I want to say that I’m truly sorry for what I have done and I do hope that while I’m locked up, I can get the rehabilitation that I need to change my mindset.”
Before pronouncing sentence, Boyce spoke to Lake, expressing his shock that a crime so violent could happen in Madison County.
“We have a right to be safe and secure in our homes, and the way that you did this, does strike right at the fabric of the community. I can’t believe this happened in my jurisdiction here in Madison County,” said Boyce. “We had a home invasion, where you killed someone trying to defend their home and their wife, and tried to kill Karen with a knife. I just can’t understand the level of violence that would lead you to do that. I don’t think anyone will ever understand it.”