The Lethal Library

41. Murder in the Foothills: The Heinous Crimes of Adam Dees

• The Lethal Library • Episode 41

Share episode

Get ready for another unbelievable tale as Dani and Stephanie dive into the 2015 Boise triple homicide committed by a champ of criminal stupidity, Adam Dees. We'll unpack the tragic story of the Welp family and how a foolhardy attempt at robbery turned into a horrifying crime. Think stolen credit cards, useless disguises, and the worst escape plan you've ever heard. We also highlight the heroic victims and the fast-paced investigation that led to Dees's capture, all while sprinkling in a bit of cheeky commentary on criminal incompetence. 

Contact The Lethal Library at TheLethalLibrary@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!

Stephanie:

But Danny, so. I don't, I remember this case that, that you're doing a little bit. I'm not good at remembering all the details of cases and stuff, but I remember hearing about it when it was going on and the guy's name is Dees. So I have to by law say Dees

Dani:

nuts. Um, and then she said, how do you spell that? And I said, DEES. And she's like, oh shit. His last name is really Dees. Yes, it is. D nuts.

Stephanie:

So, um, D Nuts are sponsoring this podcast.

Dani:

Uh, let me tell you about a fucker. This guy's a no good guy. You ready? Yes, I am. Ready. in 2015 in a Boise Foothills home, a welfare check on Cartwright Road turned into a triple homicide. The sheriff called heinous. Within a day, a 22-year-old walked up into Best Buy for a stereo bought with a victim's credit card. The episode follows the Welp family and their senseless murders by Adam Dees. Sources used in today's episode are articles from the Idaho Statesman. Thank you. Late on March 10th, 2015, a family member checking 9,700 North Cartwright Road reported suspicious circumstances at the residence. Deputies arrived and found three adults, deceased inside the Sheriff's office, announced the deaths at 8:40 PM holding back details to protect leads. And you know, it was a shit show up there. Oh, I bet. I mean, all the. Everybody's like, what's going on? Mm-hmm. So they had to announce it that evening because there was just much going on. Police presence. Mm-hmm. And

Stephanie:

crime investigation. All that.

Dani:

ADA County Sheriff Gary Rainey urged tips from anyone who noticed someone who, quote, didn't seem to fit to call in Rainey, confirmed no children lived at the home, and that it was not a murder suicide.

Stephanie:

Because that is something that often happens when there's oh, we haven't heard from these two or three people in a few days. Sometimes that is the case. So it is good to know that it was not that and that someone did this well, and I

Dani:

also think that by saying that to the public of saying, Hey, there's a risk out there. Yes.

Stephanie:

Which is, so

Dani:

maybe you should give us your tips. Very strategic.

Stephanie:

Absolutely

Dani:

right. Putting some urgency

Stephanie:

on it. This

Dani:

did not just happen in this house. There's somebody else out there, so please call in your tips. Thank you. Yeah. sheriff said that three people found dead in the Boise foothills home were killed in a heinous manner. Quote, in my 31 years of law enforcement, I have probably not seen a bloodier or more violent murder occur. He said, calling the scene terrible. The victims, a woman and two men all related were killed sometime between the evening of March 8th and the morning of March 10th. When asked if the public should be afraid, Rainey said quote. It's a, it's sad for me to say, but yes.

Stephanie:

Well, there is a danger out there. You know,

Dani:

somebody's out just murdering people. Mm-hmm. The next day on March 11th, Nampa resident Adam, Michael Dees age 22, was arrested at the Boise Best Buy after he arrived to pick up a car. Stereo bought with a victim's credit card. Oh, you don't say. Yeah. I just think that super smart move there.

Stephanie:

We've got a genius on our hands, folks.

Dani:

Yeah, I got a fucking credit card. Let's go shop.

Stephanie:

Swiping it away and shopping. In person at a place with security cameras and

Dani:

they have your fucking car, bro. Yes. They've got your car, they've got your face. I, I'm just gonna run into Best Buy. Hey, do you think you can install this stereo?

Stephanie:

Because there's even other ways where, I mean, you still should be never be using a dead person's card because it can be tracked to you eventually. But I mean, if you ordered something online, got it shipped to a different address than your own or some type of like. Maybe somewhere where you knew you could go pick it up, you'd have a little bit more, an anonymity there for a little bit longer.

Dani:

No,

Stephanie:

in person

Dani:

with my car swiping away, swiping that card, sweepy

Stephanie:

swipe, and it's just so sad. I can. So cool. I'm getting a car stereo now. Hell yeah. This is my first priority. Fuck yeah, bro. Let's go. We're gonna be bumping. Listen, I, I can appreciate the need to bump at a certain age,

Dani:

right,

Stephanie:

but

Dani:

foolish. He was booked on grand theft, forgery, and a misdemeanor concealed weapon charge. Ooh.'cause you know, upon using a dead person stolen credit card. A gun in the vehicle is probably

Stephanie:

hello

Dani:

and just cherry on top. When Dees was taken into custody, detectives impounded his black 2003 Subaru Legacy station wagon.

Stephanie:

We're bumping in the wagon though this, this is a little, it did have

Dani:

a gold stripe

Stephanie:

that adds at least 15 horsepower from what I know about cars. As far as if you, if you have a racing stripe, at least 15 horsepower. I had a gold stripe on it. Two of them get, I mean, you're, you're fast. Too fast. Too furious at this point. Drifting. That was fucking

Dani:

awesome. Oh, and investigators asked anyone who had seen that Subaru near Cartwright Road or on the central bench earlier in the week, and anyone approached about buying a. Diamond ring to contact Ada County Dispatch.

Stephanie:

Oh, we are getting glitz and glammed. We are getting the bling bling he's doing living large. Somebody watched too many Fast and Furious or rap music videos and I love rock music videos myself. But

Dani:

no, he was,

Stephanie:

he was putting it

Dani:

out there. He was

Stephanie:

living large.

Dani:

The neighbors began to identify the family. Oh, this is so, okay. The victims were Theodore Ted Welp, age 80, no, Dolores Elaine Welp, age 77, and their son Thomas Welp, age 52. The Whelps had recently moved back to Boise from the Tucson area with their son Thomas. And Thomas was mostly deaf, so just that even makes it sadder for me, me, right. Elaine was originally from Idaho and she came from an old Chalice family, so probably old money. Mm-hmm. Um, and Ted, a Santa Clara University graduate. Rose to senior Vice president at Tucson Electric Power in 1974. Wow. And this is, this is interesting. And he became known for his aggressive wholesale power deals.

Stephanie:

Really? Okay.

Dani:

He was credited with inventing us wholesale electricity trading.

Stephanie:

That's a big deal.

Dani:

I know a thing or two about power. That's why I thought you'd find that interesting. Thomas, their son, um, attended NTID studying computer science and worked for IBM and he loved his horses, frosty and monsoon, who were his eyes and ears for the outdoors. He was a big outdoor lover despite his, blindness and deafness. he was out there. Running cattle and

Stephanie:

and how brave is that?

Dani:

I'd be so fucking scared.

Stephanie:

I'm scared of it. And I can see in here.

Dani:

Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm really, those are pretty animals on my farm. I, I was the most scared of cows. They're large and in charge. Mm-hmm. As far as I'm concerned. Anyway. I'd be so scared, but he really did love those horses and they were his eyes and ears out there.

Stephanie:

And I think horses are really intuitive and they kind of know. So that's just really cool to hear that.

Dani:

No ELPs are good people. They led the Dove Foundation donating to Christian organizations and centers for the deaf and blind, including Bishop Kelly High School and ongoing support to a non-denominational chapel in Stanley. They also donated$475,000 to the foundation fighting blindness.

Stephanie:

Dang.

Dani:

Yeah.

Stephanie:

They weren't kidding around. No. Very passionate. I love and had the money to, yeah. I love

Dani:

full. Yeah. Say the word for me. I love full land therapists. Did I do it right? You did. Thank you.

Stephanie:

Philanthropists. We love you.

Dani:

I wanna ha, I wanna be that. Or

Stephanie:

you can just dump some

Dani:

money and make a difference and with some money, make a real difference in something. Ah, I wanna do that anyway. Still gotta pay my mortgage though, first. Mm-hmm. Some bitch shucks at a family statement through James Nehi, husband of their daughter Catherine. Asked for privacy and thank the public for prayers. And later the family. Thank the sheriff's office and urged anyone with information to please call detectives. Yeah.

Stephanie:

cause what the hell,

Dani:

Their neighbor John said the Whelps had moved in within the past year. He hadn't met them yet, but had noticed recent construction being done at the home. John said, quote, this could happen anywhere. It just happened in our neck of the woods. So this is.

Stephanie:

But this doesn't, I, I appreciate that comment because it is a good reminder because in Idaho generally the crime is really low, but you know, it does happen. Like I think we've both had people close to us that have been affected by terrible violence.

Dani:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie:

And it's a, I think it's a good reminder, you know, that. Yes. People say you don't have to lock your doors at night here. That's just pure luck. You know, you have less of a chance, but lock why? Why not lock your doors? Yep. And it really can. Yeah. This isn't victim blaming or whatever. It's just these are the type of things that could deter someone and, oh, Steph,

Dani:

just wait. Oh shucks. On March 12th, Dee's Bell was set at$2 million.

Stephanie:

Damn.

Dani:

Deputy Prosecutor Brian Noggle asked for 3 million, but defense attorney Isaiah Govia called the bell quote outrageously high.

Stephanie:

What are we talking about? He's bling, blinging out his hands. He's bumping up his, he hasn't been

Dani:

charged with anything. He's only been charged with. The credit card stuff. Mm-hmm. And the burglary. Okay. I see your point. Um, magistrate Theresa Gardenia, I probably fucked that up. Was nice. Sorry. Cited public safety concerns instead, a preliminary hearing for March 26th. that same morning, deputy served a warrant at Dee's home. In the 1700 block of North Cody Drive in Nampa. Mm. Detective spoke with Dee's two roommates and began searching for evidence. Oh, they're looking, this is so fast too. Like they caught him. So it's, he was brazen and dumb. Dumb dumb, dumb dumb, dumb dumb. Big old. Dumb dumb here. Mm-hmm. and a video arraignment. Dee said that he had read the complaint and answered no, and if he asked if he could post bond, he's like, yeah, I just, 2 million. Will we take a credit card?

Stephanie:

I do have a brand new credit card if I could try it. I mean, can we just swipe it and see what happens is what I'm imagining.

Dani:

Noggle said that Dees is placed on suicide watch. Govia told the court Dees is bipolar and lacked access to his medication and custody. So there's all these things going on, you know, just got arrested. He has some, a mental illness. Mm-hmm. No medication. They're like, yeah, you're getting a risk. Yeah, you're getting a high bill and you're also being placed on suicide watch. Okay. Dee's father, Steve Dees, this makes me so sad. I told the Idaho statesman, his son said he found the credit cards. He described his 22-year-old son as a good kid who did something stupid by using stolen credit cards. Oh. And said he did not believe his son would commit a violent crime.

Stephanie:

And you want to believe that as a parent so hard. Yeah. Even though, you know, we know our kids' flaws and you know this and that, and sometimes we don't know all of their flaws or sometimes we don't. Or how deeply.

Dani:

Or you could be raised in a totally fantastic family and still

Stephanie:

have We've seen it. Yeah. Or even the, the person who commits the crimes admits my childhood was great. I had a great, yeah. It's nothing, any

Dani:

qualms with it. Right. And it'd be so, I don't know. I think that that would be just so hard as a parent, because you'd want to believe records showed an unrelated AMPA citation from October, 2014 for battery and vandalism at a Walmart gas station. On March 31st, while dealing with all this other serious, serious stuff, Dees pled guilty to disturbing the peace. in that case, the malicious injury to property was dismissed. Mm, judge Debra or suspended, a hundred eighty eight, a hundred eighty day jail term, and ordered a thousand dollars in restitution and costs. Basically, he. Almost hit a guy on a bicycle. Oh. And then the guy on the bicycle followed him over to the Walmart and they had an altercation and he threw the bicycle. Alright, so there's some violent tendencies there.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Lack of emotional regulation, I'm sensing. Yeah.

Dani:

But that was just a little baby thing that he already had going on before the big thing on March 13th. Rainey said new evidence allowed him to finally tell the public they could sleep peacefully without fear of an ongoing threat. He did not say whether that meant Dees was connected to the killings'cause they have to hold their cards close, right? Oh yeah. It sucks, but it's, it is what it is. Witnesses reported Dee's trying to sell a diamond ring and detectives recovered Elaine's diamond ring from a local jeweler, God. Dees remained held on that$2 million bond. Yeah, it's getting deep now. Yeah. It's

Stephanie:

just all unraveling.

Dani:

So, back at Dee's house, detective seized guns and hunting rifles, knives, computer equipment, from all three men living at the Napa house. They're, we're taking

Stephanie:

all your shit. Sorry. Can you

Dani:

imagine? You're like, what up, dude? It's just my, listen, this, they're like, it's just my roommate. A 25-year-old roommate said that he and another coworker rented the home and took in Dees five to six months earlier to help with the rent because of their student loans. just trying to get

Stephanie:

by,

Dani:

just, they're like, yeah, this guy from work, he needs a place. And

Stephanie:

you know, you know him, you know, more than a stranger, right? So it feels better than putting out a Craigslist ad for a stranger. You're like, at least I know, you know what you know of someone at work. And for the most part, that usually works out. Not here. Oh, I'd be so fucking pissed. They took all their shit. Oh, I bet. Because they're, and they're

Dani:

like, wait, I need that. Like, they're like, yeah, we don't know if you're involved. We don't know. But I'm not, yo, can I have my computer back? Like literally, I need that for school. one roommate stated that Dee worked at Plexus.

Stephanie:

Good old

Dani:

Plexus, SWAT even assisted in the search. One neighbor Adrian Contreras, described a trailer armored vehicle and a pair military team with rifles. Can you imagine seeing that in your fucking neighborhood, and you're like, oh, are they busting like a drug house down the street? What's happening?

Stephanie:

Oh, they're coming to our door. This is weird. Oh, why am

Dani:

I'm just, I'm Why? Literally, there was one roommate that sat on the lawn in handcuffed. Oh, fuck. I'd be, be so mad. Like I, I'm just minding my business mm-hmm. Doing my job, coming home, being a 25-year-old kid. Yeah. Transactional, like everyone lives here, pays the rent, blah, blah, blah. Um, I am sitting in handcuffs on my front yard in front of all my fucking neighbors with a SWAT team. Yeah. Everyone's, everyone's getting a good look. Yeah. Thank you. Oh my god. Chris is

Stephanie:

probably there.

Dani:

You

Stephanie:

like,

Dani:

we don't need, I'd be like, we don't need a trial judge. Let me add a motherfucker. Yeah, let me, let me just talk to him for a few minutes. Can I, can I just see him for a few minutes?

Stephanie:

They took my fucking computer. But yeah, I can say I'm very drama free in my world now and I remember a time when it felt, felt very drama full in my life, and this would've fucking. At my point now, this would've fucking pissed me off.

Dani:

Throw me over the

Stephanie:

fucking edge. Handcuffed on my own front lawn over the edge.

Dani:

Mm-hmm. And I probably wouldn't have behaved

Stephanie:

well. And listen, when they search houses, this is a thing that I have a big problem with. When cops are searching houses with SWAT teams and everything, like once they've cleared the house, when they turn it over like they're a burglar one, I think it's rude. Two, I think it's ineffective. You can't tell me that. Dumping out drawers on the ground and kind of kicking through it and just fucking trashing the place is an effective way of evidence recovery. I want in there a fucking type A person who's cataloging and neatly like knows everything. I feel like that's a huge miss in law enforcement. They go in and it's almost like their goal is to terrorize. No, your goal is to collect evidence. How are you dumping shit and just trashing the place? How is that an effective means of collecting evidence needed for a crime, even if a crime didn't come, wasn't committed there, right. Okay, I wanna know, oh, we found this little teeny tiny journal, or, oh, we found this handwritten note with, you know, the suspects. We found

Dani:

this gold coin that is rare

Stephanie:

and that is registered and insured, you know, by the victim. We wanna find that. So that shit pisses me off because I feel like it's one stupid as fuck. And two, also just rude.

Dani:

Lemme just give an example. So. Is dumping the drawer of socks looking for such gold coin better than opening each pair of socks and unrolling them? No. See, you've got a fantastic point. We're on the same

Stephanie:

page. Yes, absolutely. And I just, it's always because I've seen so many crime scene and you know, documentaries where they show them going through shit and I'm like, this is just. Point blank, not efficient and defective for what your goal is. Why are you doing that? You're

Dani:

trying to find a little gold coin tucked into a sock.

Stephanie:

There could be someone's hair on a hat that like you threw across the room. It needs to be methodical, it needs to be organized, cataloged, and then that will help you win a case less contamination, less missed evidence. Law enforcement. Please stop doing this shit. Pisses me off so bad. Rant over.

Dani:

The poor roommate said, I just feel so bad for the roomies. Oh, me too. Uh, he just, he said Dees mostly played battlefield, far cry and destiny. Went hunting with his father and seemed pretty ordinary. Really? He said de quit Plexus in November or December. Hmm. So he'd been outta work for two or three months.

Stephanie:

Yeah. And most people don't have the savings to accommodate that. I wonder if there was any drama there. I'm just speculating, of course. Right. But

Dani:

at the end of March, detectives and crime scene analysts were. Meticulously processing the residence. Okay.

Stephanie:

Now we're being me and I don't, I will say, I don't know how it looked on this specific case of, uh, no.

Dani:

Meticulously processing the Whelps residence.

Stephanie:

Oh, okay. Okay.

Dani:

the precise cost of the Whelps death has not been released yet. They won't, they won't say, they're not saying anything. No. coroner Dottie Owens issued no further information either Okay, but Dees has still not been charged in the killings. So they're meticulously going through that house. and Dees is in jail,

Stephanie:

but still nothing. And I get the not wanting to make a mistake because appeals, we've seen so many appeals where appeals, appeals, appeals evidence collection was not done correctly or so many things that cause a mistrial or allow an appeal or. basically them saying the verdict wasn't sound and undoing the verdict to where you have to start all over again. So I think people got a lot more cognizant of that in the early or late nineties, two thousands.'cause it felt like before we were kind of just willy-nilly, you're, you're dead Yeah fast and we got you fast and loose where you're gonna get the death penalty and no one's going to contest it. You can

Dani:

definitely see the difference in cases from the eighties. seventies and eighties to, you know, yeah. The cases that we do after 2000 because Oh, they're like, oh, this blood evidence is important because it could have DNA. Mm-hmm. And we might not be able to find the guy now, but we can later. And we, I love those things, by the way. Yes. Love that. a preliminary hearing that had been set for March 26th was postponed to April 15th. Attorney Isaiah Govia withdrew from the case. And, magistrate Gardenia appointed a public defender. I couldn't find why he withdrew from the case. He's probably I feel it takes a lot. well, a lot of times it's a conflict of interest. Mm-hmm. That's what I've seen mostly. But he could have just said I can't work with this client. Like literally that's a reason. Mm-hmm. Like, they're not listening to me. I can't work with this client. And they know that if they were to go to trial Yeah. That it would, it's just not gonna pan out. Or it could be that, they have another case that they need to try. Right. It's just not So there's multiple reasons I couldn't find the reason. I don't, because it wasn't reported. I'm assuming it was something. Yeah, you all know playing like he already had court or he had vacation coming up, or he had had three kids at home and couldn't take on this kind of a serious case or didn't have the knowledge to take on this kind of a serious case. So, or maybe he had a petty schedule that weekend. Who knows? Who knows? Or maybe he didn't like the guy. Anyway, true. Finally, on April 8th, a grand jury indicted Dees on three counts of first degree murder. The indictment said the victims were bludgeoned and shot in the head. How terrible. Tom was also stabbed in the neck over overkill, like just a nine millimeter handgun and a baseball bat were used in the killings.

Stephanie:

That's something else. Yeah. Especially a random Hmm. The

Dani:

bat.

Stephanie:

Hmm.

Dani:

Prosecutor Jan Bennett joined by Rainey, declined to discuss whether Dees knew the victims or if there was forced entry or any other suspects. Of course, they're keeping it tight. Yep. No decision had been made on seeking the death penalty yet because you know, it's Idaho Dees was also indicted for stealing jewelry and credit cards using Ted's credit cards on March 10th. It was so small at Sears. Oakley the buckle ballin and barbacoa.

Stephanie:

Barbacoa is a very popular restaurant around here. And listen, I'm not saying I'm not a food critic. It is fun. It's a, it's definitely the prices. It's like you would do it for a special occasion or if your company wants to throw a big bash and you got the company card. Um, very beautiful scenic. It decorated very nicely. It's fun. Very Instagrammable for sure. Yeah. Um, the bathroom for sure. The bathrooms are iconic. Yeah. The best, the best bathroom selfie you're ever gonna take in your life is going well in, in Idaho is gonna happen here. Yeah. Um, but everything's on fire for no reason. Your food's on fire storage, more of it. Your appetizer's on fire, your meal's on fire, your dessert's on fire. Like it's a, it's so. I will just say it. Love, I love the restaurant. It's got a nice view. They, they've got a great happy hour, but it's a little, once you've been there a few times, you're like, okay, I get it. You're letting everything come fire. We understand, but it's, it's

Dani:

expensive.

Stephanie:

It is ex, that's why. Gotta go for happy hour for the half. Price, drinks and naps. Tableside, guac. Anyone? Anyone?

Dani:

Rainy said Dee's. Two roommates. Had finally been cleared. What a relief for them. Oh, and he also said about 50 personnel had logged over a thousand hours on the case so far. They're getting the work done. They're like, we're gonna, we're getting you a fucker. Mm-hmm. Come on In his first post indictment court appearance. Dees shackled to a wheelchair, appeared by video and consulted with his attorney, Tony, get. I'm not, I kind of got the feeling from the reading that he was in the wheelchair because he was combative.

Stephanie:

Oh. So like one of those I don't know what the technical term is, but I've seen police videos where it's like a wheelchair, but. Basically to keep you from flailing, like when someone's booked in, I'm kind of imagining something like that. Or

Dani:

resisting. Yes. Moving. They're

Stephanie:

like, well, you gotta go to court. So,

Dani:

because

Stephanie:

we can't, we can't allow you to walk by yourself'cause you're trying to fucking windmill us, bro. Right, right. Kinda like a spa or doesn't

Dani:

wanna go'cause he's scared. Mm-hmm. Maybe they just said, pop a squat and put some hand on him. You're gonna get, and you're going, you're going, you're gotta go to your court. It's required. Yeah. Not an option. Additional counts included four credit card forgeries, two robberies, burglary, and a use of a deadly weapon during a crime and concealing a dangerous weapon. Everything a district court arraignment before Judge Sam Hoagland was set for April 16th. So we are moving on from magistrates, moving right along to judges. On May 14th, Dee stood silent in front of Judge Hoagland, so the judge entered a not guilty plea for Dees and set a trial for September 29th.

Stephanie:

All right.

Dani:

Yeah. On June 26th, Dees pled guilty to three counts of first degree murder and one count of robbery. Wow. In exchange,'cause they had him dead to rights, it was meticulously dead to right. It's, the deal. Guaranteed life without parole. The record said Tom, who was nearly blind and deaf, suffered a stab wound to the neck. Okay, and all three were shot in the head and repeatedly struck with a wooden baseball bat.

Stephanie:

Why was that necessary? I just, these are two elderly folks, one somewhat older person that's nearly blind and deaf cannot be very much of a threat to you. We're using three different weapons, I just. It is tough for me to picture it. It and I, this is me assuming I'm making a speculation, but it feels like someone wanted to be brutal because I can, if you have a gun,

Dani:

why are we using a bat?

Stephanie:

Why is the bat a knife even necessary? Hello?

Dani:

Exactly.

Stephanie:

It just seems very brutal and out of control to me. It is.

Dani:

so you wanna hear some evidence of what happened? Yes, I do. A Walmart in Garden City showed surveillance that on 5:00 PM on March 8th, Dees was buying a black bat ski mask and zip ties. Okay. Then on March 9th, he took a lanes diamond ring to a jeweler to sell. Claiming he found it on the roadside red flag. You know, that that guy was like mm-hmm. You found it on the road. So as soon as, as soon as investigators were like, we're looking for, and the judge was like, I got it. You knew He is like he red flag flag that he probably

Stephanie:

had it in the like, dangerous file. Yeah. Like the big red flag file. Well, and

Dani:

these guys came, they had money. Mm-hmm. So it was probably a very nice ring. Yeah. investigators said he stole tools, jewelry, and of course the credit cards dip shit. He used the cards at Two Mountain Home Stores and several Boise stores, and also ditched evidence at several of those locations. Smarty. Ted's luggage was in the trash behind Barba coa.

Stephanie:

I bet it was nice luggage too,

Dani:

and but it, and it held the bloody bat that was shattered in two, and the Ted saw the bat matched Thomas's blood.

Stephanie:

Easy, easy, like you said, dead to rights. But once again, I'm not trying to encourage people to be better. It's just so disappointing that there's. What year was this? 15. There was still such a wealth of information out there about the internet

Dani:

was there, bro?

Stephanie:

Yes. And there was date, a Dateline Dateline of, you know, you just listen to that and you hear the, the same mistakes over and over. You

Dani:

could even go back. Old school unsolved mysteries.

Stephanie:

Exactly. What are we do? Like if you're going to commit yourself to something this terrible, which I'm not encouraging, the lack of foresight is astounding to me.

Dani:

After the Best Buy arrest, police recovered Ted's shoes and a ski mask dumped there handy. It's like, just sprinkle it, sprinkle. We've got

Stephanie:

the card ping, we've got the camera footage, we've got your car. All we had to do was look in the dumpster and you use the handy dandy dumpster that was right there. Because listen, I'm a sucker for convenience. I hate making extra trips to do anything. I'm sorry. I will literally kill myself to make one trip with groceries into the house. So going, you know, if I have to go to the Best Buy to get my new sound system for my Subaru so I can be bumping and get all the, all the, all the gentleman and ladies with my bump and car system, I, I get it. You don't wanna go to a different dumpster, but if you've, if you've committed one of the worst crimes. Terrible things, and you don't wanna be in jail for the rest of your life. Maybe a little quick trip to a different dumpster would be in your best interest saying Stop it at Jackson's. I'm just, I'm just saying

Dani:

stop it at Jackson's

Stephanie:

stop at a stop at a construction site where there hopefully isn't cameras. Hey, that's an idea. Don't, don't listen to the serial killers. Do not listen to this. Ear muff. Ear muffet. But I'm just, I. It's tough for me if, if you're doing so the big stupidity, like, that's serious. So stupid. You wanna sit down. I wouldn't do this, but if something like this happened to me or a friend, I, I would be like thinking of every possible thing. And this is, it's so, even just with movies, like the ability to be just so fucking dumb with it baffles me every fucking time.

Dani:

And this is real life. And he was an idiot. Yes. The Welp family supported the plea to avoid a long trial and appeals. I agree. I can totally get behind that. Like he can't, he's never getting out. He can't contest it. He can't appeal by, you don't have to be drug back into the courtroom. Right. And relive your family's murders. Again and try to justify to a new girl or, and then the anxiety of having all that come up. I can't even, Ima like, I gotta go fight this again, of someone

Stephanie:

being like, they found Jesus, or they did this community. S you know, they're doing this for the jail. Look good for you. Meet'em later. Bye. Like, I hope that's enriching for your life in there. That's great that you're doing that. Please enrich your life in there and maybe become a better person. But why the

Dani:

fuck do we want you on the streets? Don't wanna hear you. Bye. On the August 28th sentencing hearing, Catherine, their daughter, told these quote, you took my mother's life, father's life, brother's life. Now we take yours one minute at a time.

Stephanie:

Fuck yeah, sis. That is cutting. And I do like that. Fuck yeah. Because I like when they give them something to think about and it listen. Everything doesn't have to be cutting or biting or whatever. But I can tell you if someone said that to me that every minute we're taking that from you, we, it's ours, and he's 22 that would sit with me. Yeah.

Dani:

Oh, she fucking killed. Killed it. It puts a reality on it. And you know what? So classy too. Mm-hmm. Because I would like to think I'd be classy in that situation like, you're a motherfucker.

Stephanie:

No, I'd

Dani:

be

Stephanie:

getting rested for so classy, like for a windmill and a bitch probably

Dani:

there, he's, she's just like, you did this and this. And she's saying to go fuck yourself. Your life's ours now. Very politely and in a beautiful way. So way to go, sis. Yes. Hundred percent. What a heartbreak for her. I fucking, but I love my parents. Make it into their fucking eighties and you fucking cowardly fucking dick. There was

Stephanie:

no need for

Dani:

it. No. He could have senseless. Oh, and my deaf and blind brother. You could have just fucking, you could have just tied him up. Probably used a soft rope. Or a tie and just tied their hands behind their back and took whatever the fuck you wanted. There was no need for guns and bashing.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Stolen all their, their valuables that were physical and gone to another state. And you might have not even been caught if that was the case. Wow. He had to get that Subaru

Dani:

bump in.

Stephanie:

Yes, we needed, he needed a sound

Dani:

system right now, first priority judge Sam Hoagland imposed life without parole for each victim plus 25 years for robbery. Detective Jared Watson said Dees lingered after the killings. He emptied Ted's wallet. Elaine's purse and her jewelry box. And this is a weird,

Stephanie:

so he was very meticulous at

Dani:

this point. This is a, he Dees shoved the left crossbar of a crucifix into the wall above Elaine's nightstand. So literally took a crucifix and like stabbed it on the wall. Maybe

Stephanie:

try, maybe. Oh, they're gonna think it's a Satanic cult. Yep.

Dani:

Uh,

Stephanie:

that's your best idea. Like

Dani:

Char Charles Manson was here. Y'all fucking suck at this shit, and you should have never gotten into this career path. Over the next two days, Dee's used the Weps cards for purchases. We know this, but let me give you some details, including a$2,500 television.

Stephanie:

Ooh, balling

Dani:

a$200 mail, a barbacoa. We told you it was expensive. And that

Stephanie:

was, this was 10 years ago. Yes.

Dani:

Uh, and then in Ted's discarded suitcase, police found the shattered bat. Three spent shell casings keeping all the evidence together. Making it nice and tidy. Yeah. Put it,

Stephanie:

address it to the investigators At this point, what the fuck are we doing? And 10 lanes, driver's licenses. Hello. Why did you need to take those? What benefit? What benefit They're gonna know who it is easily. You can find out who it is. Property records, fingerprints, any, why are we taking in ke? Did you, was this your first bout at trying to be a serial killer and these are your little trophies. You absolute dip shit.

Dani:

Not, not getting it. put Remember the raid on the house? Yes. With all the roommates. There was some evidence pulled out of there. Uh,'cause they found Elaine's pearls and earrings, indies, Nampa closets. Like it's there. You're bringing it home.

Stephanie:

What are you doing with pearls, bro? Holding them in your house as a roommate? and just like you said, the jeweler, as soon as this came out was like, listen up. I got it. I got it. It's you. You walking into a jewelry store with that type of ring. I mean, this isn't any shade and I, but it's,

Dani:

I found it. People

Stephanie:

that deal in big jewelry and you know, nice things

Dani:

they know. They've seen it all. Oh, you mean this. This is what I imagine if I was a jeweler and a 22-year-old kid came out with a diamond ring, I'd be like, you stole this from your mom. Yeah, that's what I would do. You stole this from your grandma. You stole this from your auntie. You stole this from somebody and

Stephanie:

they'll, if it's your rich family, they'll probably forgive you. Yeah. And it'll all roll over. So that's why you're not

Dani:

that, that jeweler definitely set that ring aside. Yes. I fucking promise you. Mm-hmm.

Stephanie:

Because he

Dani:

is like there, because you have, you have to give Id, you have to give id, he probably just is like, I'm collecting, I'm, I'm basically a detective now. Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

Stephanie:

This is just wild.

Dani:

These apologize. I don't care. Uh, his attorney said he went into Rob the WAPs and quote, something horrible happened. He bought a happened. He look at that, he happened.

Stephanie:

If you cannot rob people in their eighties or near eighties and a deaf and blind son, if you cannot rob them effectively without killing them. You are a fucking loser.

Dani:

Something horrible happened. Yes, you happened. Prosecutors countered with Walmart stills and described the bindings, the beatings, and the head shots. Nagel said quote, he tortured these people and noted that disgusting. He, he really did. Like you said, he could have just tied these guys up by gun gunpoint. Mm-hmm. Maybe, maybe not. But he could have just tied'em up and stole what he wanted. There was no reason for to murder

Stephanie:

everyone and to do it brutally with three different weapons. Yeah.

Dani:

Why are we doing

Stephanie:

this Three different known weapons. That's probably not counting any physical violence of if there was a scuffle or anything. No, he was there. That's what, that's my opinion is that he was there for. Brutality. And I think he also wanted money. He was outta work, whatever. But I think that he, there was violence. He tended that he was some type of villain Yeah. That could do this.

Dani:

and I wish, I wish we had money because I would love to hear this, this jail phone call. I wish we could go get the records, but, it was also noted that Dees had joked about the murders in a jail phone call.

Stephanie:

What an absolute cunt.

Dani:

Mm-hmm. So on August 31st and a debrief required by the plea bargain, Dees told detective he chose the Cartright Roadhouse because it was remote and looked affluent. I don't think he said affluent. He probably said they looked rich big. Well, they have money. Yeah, he said heavy exposure. This was so 2015, heavy exposure to first person shooter games, made killing, quote, not difficult and claimed he acted alone. And he did. De admitted was his first home invasion robbery, stating he might have repeated if he hadn't been caught.

Stephanie:

And that is so wild because how do you not even reflect? Let's say that you panic.

Dani:

That's a fucking inside thought anyways. Look, if I'm getting debriefed, I'm gonna tell you. I'm not gonna tell you I would've never done that again. No,

Stephanie:

he said he would've. He would. But you would say that. Yeah. Right. If you had more than one brain cell, because then you can say, I got myself into something. I didn't even know what I was doing. I panicked. Yes, I, it could help. I thought it was a video game, bro. You're telling people that. Given the chance you do it again. Sure. Even though you fucking one sucked at it the first time. But two, this is a danger to the public and probably two in one should be reversed. But what, like, what the fuck

Dani:

he said he was depressed and suicidal.

Stephanie:

Aw, I'm, I'm sorry. That's how I feel too. I, I'm not saying that's not a big deal. I just, suicidal, repeatable.

Dani:

Listen, suicidal people, they're not

Stephanie:

doing

Dani:

this. They, they're not. They're only concerned about their themselves therapy pain. They feel a burden.

Stephanie:

Yes. Yes.

Dani:

They're not worried. They're not going out. Oh, I need to go steal some money. No. And then big balling

Stephanie:

after and yeah. Hurting people with weapons. I'm gonna go have a$200

Dani:

mil of barbacoa. Thank you.

Stephanie:

Fuck you. No, this is literally like criminal. Treat yourself. What the fuck?

Dani:

So he said he used Google Maps. To scout remote high-end homes around the Boise and mountain home area. He then, this is, this is why he's such a fucking bad. He's a bad dude. Anyways, this was all fucking premeditated. Oh yeah. He then staked out the residence on March 8th. So he drove up there and then he came back home and put on his dark clothing with guns. His, his little murder kit that he bought it, his murder kit at Walmart. I. He said he first broke into a second house under construction to take power tools and then entered the main house through an open garage door. Oh shit. Using keys found inside of a truck to get inside the house. They did lock their house

Stephanie:

doors and that's so shit like that's so shitty that he was able to do it that way. that's probably the most. Logical thing. I guess you could say that he's, he had done this whole time, but that's just, I, I could make that mistake so easily. Absolutely. And it's just,

Dani:

he also said the security system was not armed and that if he would have left, if it had been,

Stephanie:

if you start hearing alarms going off, it's a huge deterrent.

Dani:

And he also said he would've left if the family had owned a larger dog. And that's,

Stephanie:

listen, I don't

Dani:

know if I believe that though, because he had a gun,

Stephanie:

but he had a gun and he still, he's

Dani:

dog blaming.

Stephanie:

Yeah. We don't dog blame and shame. No, everyone doesn't need to have a big dog. But I will say, listen up. I know that this is, the experience for a lot of folks with big dogs is they do have a very intimidating bark and sometimes they have the bite to match. Not always, but someone, Gordy someone who is nervous enough to, you know, it's, it's a nerve wracking thing to break into someone's house, and I don't know if anyone's ever seen getting bit by a dog or been bit by a dog themselves. I am not fucking with a big ass dog with a big ass bark.

Dani:

But if you had a gun,

Stephanie:

maybe,

Dani:

but then you'd wake up, ma, look, we're getting deep.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Now we're getting, we're making it messy. There's more evidence it's, I I do feel like that's a big deter. So I, I think it's nice that he said these things that are a deterrent for someone doing their first time doing a big b and e. Of this would've deterred me. that's helpful that he shared that, but still a dick. You, you could have every, every defense up and it could still happen. So this isn't to like paranoia anyone, but even if you live in a safe town where you feel like you can leave your doors unlocked, just lock'em not to blame and shame, but it's something that if something someone did for some random reason, target you. Might deter them. Like,

Dani:

I feel bad.

Stephanie:

I feel I cannot believe the depravity of this story.

Dani:

Yeah. Unnecessary, senseless. None of those people were a threat to him.

Stephanie:

No. A a young spry, 22-year-old against a mostly deaf and blind older gentleman, and then two elderly, a couple. What

Dani:

a and a little dog. Go fuck yourself. De uh, he's currently 32.

Stephanie:

Good God, that's wild.

Dani:

And we'll be serving three life, three consecutive life sentences without the possibility Parole. And he is down in good old, uh, ola the Ro Correctional Center in Arizona,

Stephanie:

please. At your leisure, Mr. Dees Rot.

Dani:

He's down there with several of his good old besties. Yeah, horrible besties. Anyway, th this was just sad and tragic and these were really good people and they just came back to Idaho

Stephanie:

and just knowing that you were the target because of Google Maps and just fucking weird ass assumptions of a 22-year-old loser, and you. It's just absolutely terrible. I feel bad for their family and

Dani:

de you're a fucker. I just, yeah.

Stephanie:

Yeah. A crime of fucking stupidity and a lot of stupid stuff going Dip shitness. Yeah. Not a crime of passion or, and not, not that that's right. But you at least understand why that happens a little bit. This is fucking stupid. Anyway, thank you guys for listening. Thank you, Danny, for finding this case and researching it. it's one that I've always wondered about'cause it's one that I could remember just hearing, you know, bits and pieces on the nightly news, our nightly local news as everyone does around that timeframe. and I never really remembered the resolve of it, but I remember how big and urgent it was like. This terrible thing happened and there was,

Dani:

it was fucking home invasion. Yes.

Stephanie:

They put the urgency out there. Mm-hmm. And it was scary because it was unexplainable and so out of character for Idaho. For sure. Yeah. So thank you Danny. follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, wherever you like. Questions, concerns, case recommendations. Email those to us at the Lethal library@gmail.com. Okay. Any closing thoughts? Danny? That's all I got tonight, sis. Alright, well enjoy. Have a great day, weekend, week, whatever's coming up for you and we'll catch you on the next one.

Dani:

Bye

Stephanie:

bye.

Dani:

tonight's episode is brought to you by Jared's poker game that he planned on the night. We're recording, so thank you.

Stephanie:

Thank you everyone. Love you. Thank you for being a part of our podcast. It's a, it's a group effort here. These are our sound engineers. We love them deeply and dearly. Oh, we do. Oh, all right.

Head Shot

Dani

Host
Head Shot

Stephanie

Host