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Left: Jeremy Best. Right: Zeke Best in Idaho. Inset: Jeremy Best (Teton County Sheriff’s Office).
A 50-year-old Idaho man admitted to killing his pregnant wife and 10-month-old son before he was spotted naked in a sleeping bag along the side of a snowy road “making odd statements.”
Jeremy Albert Best on Thursday pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of his son Zeke Gregory Best and second-degree murder of his wife Kali Best, 39, and their unborn child Freya. As part of the plea agreement, the defendant will no longer face the death penalty. A judge is expected to sentence him to life in prison at a hearing scheduled for July 23. Prosecutor’s in Teton and Bonneville said in a joint press release that the plea deal came after mediation and with the input of family members of the victims.
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As Law&Crime previously reported, cops first learned something was amiss shortly before noon on Nov. 30, 2023, after the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office responded to a general store in Swan Valley — near the Potato State’s border with Wyoming — for a nude man walking through the store, a press release said. Video obtained by EastIdahoNews.com showed the man identified as Jeremy Best slumped over a counter before being escorted outside. An ambulance took him to a hospital for medical and mental health concerns, deputies said. He was treated and released.
About 12 hours after the call to the general store, a dispatcher in nearby Teton County heard a “disturbance” during a 911 call, a press release said. Deputies rushed to the home at 4600 Skyline Loop in Victor and found Kali Best inside unresponsive. First responders pronounced her dead. Detectives quickly determined Jeremy Best killed his wife and then kidnapped their son.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for Zeke and obtained a warrant for Jeremy Best’s arrest, calling him “armed and very dangerous.”
Around 9:17 a.m. Dec. 2, 2023, a group of hunters east of Idaho Falls called the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office after they saw a man in a sleeping bag on the side of the road.
“The caller stated the man was naked and making odd statements,” a press release said.
Deputies found the man and identified him as Jeremy Best before arresting him. Authorities said they located his black SUV nearby off the road and down in embankment. They found Zeke dead inside.
The Idaho Statesman reported that Jeremy Best shot his wife to death and killed his son by “inflicting an injury on Zeke Gregory Best’s neck using a knife.” Police have not divulged a motive.
Kali Best was pregnant with her second child, her cousin Meg Fischer told East Idaho News.
“She was called to the mountains and made her home there. She was a lover of animals, especially her dogs,” Fischer said. “Motherhood was her greatest joy and we assume she gave her life protecting her children. We love her endlessly.”
