An Idaho girl was raped and killed over 40 years ago. The man accused is now on trial

Alex Brizee & Samuel O'Neal, Idaho Statesman

NAMPA (Idaho Statesman) – Daralyn Johnson woke up successful nan early greeting of Feb. 24, 1982, excited to get to schoolhouse and springiness her friend a letter.

The 9-year-old Nampa girl rushed to get fresh pulling connected her wool socks, greenish pants and a reddish shot garment that acold greeting earlier heading retired nan doorway and down six blocks to nan now-closed Lincoln Elementary School, leaving her 6-year-old sister, Darci, behind.

“What Darci didn’t cognize was that that would beryllium nan past clip she’d spot her sister alive,” Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Theodore Lagerwall told a courtroom past month.

Daralyn’s assemblage was recovered 18 miles distant successful a drainage ditch adjacent nan Snake River. Lagerwall said she’d been raped, “viciously” beaten and drowned.

Four decades aft Daralyn was killed, jurors listened to grounds during a weekslong proceedings and will deliberate connected whether to convict now-66-year-old David Dalrymple, a Nampa man who lived wrong blocks of nan Johnson family, of nan first-degree execution and rape of Daralyn. Investigators charged Dalrymple pinch nan crimes successful January 2022 aft utilizing genetic genealogy testing. He was named arsenic a fishy successful 2020.

“The grounds that you are going to perceive successful this courtroom will found that this suspect snatched her disconnected of that street,” Lagerwall told nan jurors successful Dalrymple’s criminal trial. “He took her disconnected that thoroughfare and he robbed her of her joy, of her innocence, of a puerility — and he took her life.”

Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue during a 2020 news convention announces David Dalrymple arsenic a fishy successful nan 1982 sidesplitting of Daralyn Johnson. | Katherine Jones kjones@idahostatesman.com

Dalrymple threatened to make woman ‘disappear’: affidavit

Charles Fain was initially charged and subsequently convicted of nan crimes successful November 1983. A fewer months later he was sentenced to death, and remained connected decease statement for astir 2 decades. He came wrong 4 days of being executed successful 1991 earlier U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stayed nan superior punishment, nan Idaho Statesman antecedently reported.

“The problem is, Charles Fain didn’t do this,” Lagerwall said. “You will perceive evidence, and spot evidence, and perceive grounds that intelligibly establishes this mediocre feline didn’t do this.”

Fain was released from situation successful 2001, 2 years aft he revenge a mobility to behaviour DNA testing connected pubic hairs that were recovered connected Johnson’s autopsy. It wasn’t until 2021 that Fain was declared guiltless by nan authorities of Idaho.

Charles Fain spent 18 years connected decease statement for nan wrongful condemnation of nan execution of nine-year-old Daralyn Johnson. His condemnation was later overturned by DNA grounds pinch nan assistance of nan Idaho Innocence Project. | Darin Oswald doswald@idahostatesman.com

The pubic hairsbreadth recovered connected Daralyn was sent to Bode Labs successful Lorton, Virginia, successful December 2000, according to an affidavit of probable origin revenge by nan Canyon County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by nan Statesman done a nationalist records request. For astir 20 years, investigators tested nan hairsbreadth sample against respective suspects until it was sent to different laboratory successful 2018 astatine nan proposal of Greg Hampikian, Idaho Innocence Project co-director, according to anterior Statesman reporting.

There nan hairsbreadth was wished to beryllium male, and familial genealogy was utilized by nan FBI to place a family statement — nan Dalrymple family, made up of 4 boys and 2 girls from Idaho, nan affidavit said. At nan clip of nan crime, 2 of nan boys were excessively young to drive, and nan 3rd relative was serving successful nan military; nan 4th was David Dalrymple, who was surviving successful Nampa.

Jim Dalrymple, 1 of David’s brothers, consented to a DNA sample to thief lick nan case. Buccal swabs were sent to a laboratory astatine University of California Santa Cruz, wherever results confirmed it belonged to nan Dalrymple family, according to nan affidavit.

David Dalrymple refused to return a DNA test. But aft authorities secured an bid to forcibly get his DNA, testing showed again that nan hairsbreadth very apt belonged to him successful April 2020, nan affidavit said. David Dalrymple was officially charged pinch first-degree murder and rape successful January 2022.

Dalrymple was already serving a 20-year to life condemnation for kidnapping, lewd interaction pinch a kid and intersexual maltreatment of a insignificant for a abstracted case, according to nan affidavit. The unfortunate successful that lawsuit was a young girl.

The Canyon County Sheriff’s Office said that during their investigation, they located 2 different victims of Dalrymple who ne'er reported nan battle to rule enforcement, nan affidavit said.

Both of nan victims said they would’ve been betwixt nan ages of 8 and 11 erstwhile nan alleged intersexual assaults occurred, pinch 1 of nan victims telling rule enforcement that Dalrymple took her down to nan stream adjacent Eagle and threatened to “make her disappear” if she reported nan abuse, according to nan affidavit.

“It has been a agelong travel — 42 years — for Daralyn Johnson’s slayer to yet beryllium facing justice,” Lagerwall said during nan trial.

Defense lawyer says prosecution mislaid evidence

During his little opening statement, Dalrymple’s Caldwell lawyer Jesse James attempted to displacement nan blasted backmost onto Fain and discredit nan measurement rule enforcement handled nan case.

James said nan jurors would perceive from Daralyn’s acquaintance that erstwhile she was stepping to schoolhouse that day, she saw an older grey car pinch large wheels that had a small woman successful nan wrong who “could person been” Daralyn.

He added that Fain had a akin conveyance astatine nan time, painted it reddish pursuing Daralyn’s decease and removed nan carpets.

Back successful nan ‘80s, nan prosecution and rule enforcement mislaid evidence, including blood, that wasn’t decently refrigerated, James said. He added that successful caller years nan Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office besides mislaid an full “box of evidence” successful nan execution case.

“At nan extremity of this case, you’re going to person much questions than answers,” James said. “You’re going to person much concerns than confidence, and you are going to person much uncertainty than proof.”