An Idaho resident who killed a homeless man after inviting him to breakfast at IHOP was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Dallas Brower, 28, approached two homeless people who were trying to sleep at a bus stop under the pretext of offering them food in July 2023.
Justin Friesner, 24, and his friend Cameron Russell, who had been homeless for only a few months at the time, accepted what seemed like a kind gesture, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Katelyn Farley said during their sentencing hearing. Brower.
After the three men went to an IHOP near the Boise airport, Brower stabbed Friesner to death in his car and Russell barely escaped with his life.
After Russell fled the scene, officers responded to the gruesome murder scene, where they found Brower covered in blood and the dead body of Friesner, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Dallas Brower, 28, confessed to the senseless murder of Justin Friesner and was sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole within 25 years.
Brower finally confessed and pleaded guilty in May to the first-degree murder of Friesner and aggravated assault of Russell with a deadly weapon.
During the sentencing hearing, Farley said Brower offered Friesner and Russell a marijuana joint laced with fentanyl.
The men passed out in the back seat of Brower’s car after smoking it, before waking up in a different location.
“Cameron indicated that after being hit only a few times, his memory went black before he woke up and the defendant stabbed his best friend while he was still in the back seat of the defendant’s vehicle,” Farley said.
Russell has said he remembers waking up to Brower with a “devilish grin” as he repeatedly stabbed Friesner, according to Farley.
“Justin was the sweetest person I knew,” Russell said. “It traumatized me. I couldn’t sleep at night. I watched my best friend die for no reason. The fact that he has no remorse or anything like that is sad.”
The Ada County Coroner’s Office determined that Justin Friesner (pictured) was stabbed 16 times in the neck and chest, resulting in his death.
Brower initially claimed that Friesner and Russell tried to steal his car, but this story lacked credibility when the evidence pointed to their motive for killing.
When Russell saw what was happening, he jumped into the driver’s seat and attempted to speed away. The car became stuck in the gravel pit that Brower had taken them to while they were unconscious, making escape impossible.
Judge Derrick O’Neill said Friesner told him to get out of there, in what was probably his last breath.
Russell listened, got out of the car and ran until he found workers at the airport whom he asked for help.
Boise Police Lt. Jake Nichols was first on the scene and saw Brower pacing while talking on the phone.
Nichols described Brower as “very calm” and “covered in blood,” according to Farley.
Brower initially claimed that Friesner and Russell tried to steal his car, but this story lacked credibility when the evidence pointed to their motive for killing.
The knife Brower used was buried and police also discovered a note on his phone expressing his desire to kill, written hours before the murder.
The Ada County Coroner’s Office determined that Friesner was stabbed 16 times in the neck and chest, resulting in his death.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t want to be there to protect him in those final moments, one last time,” Deslie Friesner, the victim’s sister, said in court.
“I can’t imagine how he felt in his final moments. The only piece we have is that he fought until the end because that’s who he was.
Brower had a history of violent crimes and drug use, according to police records.
Prosecutors revealed that Brower had completed an 18-month stint at a Boise halfway house just seven days before the murder.
Like Brower, Friesner (pictured) also struggled with methamphetamine addiction, his mother Summer said in court.
Brower’s attorney, Jonathan Loschi, did not dispute that his client committed the murder.
Loschi said Brower experienced hallucinations for years and began noticing violent tendencies within himself about four years ago after using methamphetamine.
He also claimed that Brower didn’t decide he should kill Friesner and Russell until they were sitting at IHOP.
“They’re eating when I start having hallucinations and voices that think they’re bad guys who have done bad things and I have to do something about it,” Loschi said. ‘It was almost an out-of-body experience. He was not in his right mind.
Like Brower, Friesner also struggled with a methamphetamine addiction, his mother Summer Friesner said in court.
“He had to be sober to come home, so he called and said he wanted to come home, and I told him to get clean,” she said.
His mother said she believed he was moving toward that goal. She pointed to the fact that he messaged a former teacher shortly before his death to let her know he wanted to quit drugs and repair his relationship with his son.
Justin is pictured hugging his mom Summer, who said her son “always put his needs on the back burner for everyone else.”
The knife murder occurred just after Brower and the other two men had breakfast at IHOP.
“He said, ‘I’m almost 25 years old. It’s time to grow up,” his mother recalled.
Summer said her son was selfless and “would do anything for anyone.”
‘No matter how bad life was for him, he was always there to help others. “He always put his needs on the back burner for others,” he added.
Brower addressed the court during the hearing and apologized for what he did.
“I would just like to apologize to everyone who has been affected by my actions, and know that I am here today ready and willing to accept whatever the consequences are,” he said.
After sentencing him to life in prison, O’Neill told Brower: “I would hate to think that your soul is so empty that this was completely and unconditionally premeditated, deliberate and remorseless.”
