Angelica Medina,Dennis Mix Obituary, Death;- Authorities have identified the four people killed in a quadruple homicide east of Twin Falls including a couple who were remembered by their only daughter as “exceptional parents” and “devoted grandparents.” Susan Ryan, a private spokesperson hired by the investigating counties, told the Idaho Statesman that the victims were identified as Angelica Medina, Dennis Mix, and husband and wife Kelly and Donna Jenks.
Following a multi-agency investigation, authorities from law enforcement agencies in Minidoka and Cassia counties arrested Benjamin Naylor and charged him with four counts of first-degree murder, along with an enhancement for using a deadly weapon, court records showed. Kelly and Donna Jenks’ daughter, Jerica Harper, issued a statement with her husband expressing their “most heartfelt and sincere gratitude” to everyone who has shown them love and support in this ”unimaginable time.” “The senseless and tragic loss of our parents has left us utterly heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief,” Jerica and Alex Harper wrote in the statement provided to the Statesman.
“Kelly and Donna were deeply loved not just by us, their family, but by so many in this community. “They were exceptional parents, devoted grandparents and kind-hearted people whose absence leaves a void that can never truly be filled.” ‘A tragedy on many levels’: Families issue statements Authorities suspect Naylor shot and killed three of the victims in their homes on June 8, while the fourth victim, Mix, was killed sometime between July 3 and July 8 and found dead in a vehicle near a closed cafe off of Idaho 27 in Heyburn, according to several court documents obtained by the Statesman.
Naylor’s family said he suffers from schizophrenia and lost his “lifelong battle” with mental illness. The Jenks lived in Burley, which is in Cassia County, while Medina lived north of Interstate 84 in Rupert, which is in Minidoka County, court records showed. Naylor, who is being held at the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center without bond, is facing two separate
Jerica and Alex Harper in their statement responded to Naylor’s family and said they were also thinking of them. “We recognize that this is a tragedy on many levels,” the Harpers wrote, “and that pain and grief ripple through every side of such a heartbreaking event.” Jerica Harper and her husband shared an “incredibly close bond” with her parents living just blocks away from them in Burley, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser created to support the Harpers.
The fundraiser has generated over $14,500 of the $16,000 goal. Their thoughts are also with the families of Medina and Mix, the Harpers wrote. “We grieve for them as well, and our thoughts are with those who knew and loved them,” they wrote. “This tragedy has affected so many lives, and our sorrow extends far beyond our own loss.” Medina’s sister, Marisa Agustin, also posted on Facebook, thanking the community for its support.
She described her sister as an “amazing, beautiful and selfless person” who was a wonderful mother, wife, daughter and sister. “We are deeply saddened and heartbroken,” Agustin wrote. “She is now flying high in heaven, always watching over us.” Court documents outline a timeline of four killings Officers with the Rupert Police Department searched a home in the small Southern Idaho town around 3:30 p.m. June 8 after they received a 911 call about a death that occurred under “suspicious circumstances,” according to probable cause affidavits.
There, they located a woman, now identified as Medina, lying on the floor of a bedroom with a gunshot wound to her head. She was 35. Earlier that day, around 1:30 p.m., footage from the home’s video doorbell showed Naylor, who was holding a firearm under his jacket, knock on the door, before leaving the house less than 20 minutes later, according to the affidavits. A detective from the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office identified Naylor from the footage.
Deputies also found a camera in the area, which had footage of the house, the affidavit said. Footage showed a gold 2013 Toyota Tundra pull up on the Jenks’ street earlier that afternoon, and a man, later identified as Naylor, was seen walking into their home, according to the affidavit. It’s unclear whether the Jenkses were killed before or after Medina. Naylor’s pickup truck was spotted less than four hours later at the intersection of South Greenwood Street and Idaho 24, right outside Shoshone, by a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, according to an affidavit.
The deputy followed Naylor through the city and up Idaho 75, toward Sun Valley, while waiting for additional officers, and eventually stopped and arrested him more than 15 miles away near the Shoshone Ice Caves. Naylor was taken to the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office, where officers from Minidoka and Cassia counties interviewed him.Minidoka Sheriff’s Deputy Dustin Bourn later asked another deputy to check the area of Connor’s Cafe in Heyburn, according to an affidavit.
The other deputy then located Mix, who was dead inside a 2010 Ford Expedition. It’s unclear when Mix, 77, was killed, but a criminal complaint filed by the Minidoka County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office indicates he was killed sometime between July 3 and July 8. Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, in Burley, wrote in an obituary that Mix died on July 4. “This arrest represents the collaborative effort of multiple law enforcement agencies working together to ensure public safety,” Cassia County Prosecuting Attorney McCord Larsen said in a news release. “We are grateful for the swift response and professional work of all officers involved.”
