"I killed sum1": Two Gooding teens face murder charges for death of 18yearold
Dec 20, 2024
Two Gooding County teenagers are facing murder charges for the death of 18-year-old Dax Richins, whose body was found in a shallow grave in September.Gooding County prosecutors say 15-year-old Rolan De La Cruz and 17-year-old Alexander Garcia planned and carried out the deadly beating and stabbing of 18-year-old Dax Richins in June his body was discovered in a shallow grave in September.Idaho News Six typically doesn't identify juveniles charged with crimes in this case, however, prosecutors informed us that the two suspects will be tried as adults.The boys were taken into custody on Wednesday and now face charges of first-degree murder and failure to report a death, with prosecutors intending to seek enhanced penalties for the weapons involved.The affidavits in the case say the two suspects admitted to killing Richins and offered investigators details about what happened. The documents allege the suspects picked the victim up from the library parking lot in Jerome and drove him out to Gooding County where they eventually beat him with brass knuckles and stabbed him to death.Investigators say the suspects returned the next day in an attempt to cover their tracks, removing certain identifying body parts and burying his body in a shallow grave.Investigators even found a *bone in suspect Garcia's truck, which he told them he "took as a trophy."Gooding County detectives were able to build a case against the two suspects thanks to search warrants which issued to access the suspect's Snapchat in those video messages, investigators say Garcia said he needed to "Physically deform a human skull," and later messaged to a friend "I killed sum1."Both suspects remain in custody at the Snake River Juvenile Detention facility and are expected in Gooding County court on Jan. 2, 2025 for preliminary hearings.