Dallas Brower sentenced to life in prison for killing homeless Idaho man Justin Friesner after IHOP trip

An Idaho resident who killed a homeless man after treating him to a breakfast at IHOP has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Dallas Brower, 28, approached two vagrants trying to sleep at bus stop under the guise of offering them a meal in July of 2023. 

Justin Friesner, 24, and his friend Cameron Russell, who had been homeless for only few months at that point, accepted what seemed like a kind gesture, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Katelyn Farley said during Brower's sentencing hearing.

After the three men went to an IHOP near Boise Airport, Brower stabbed Friesner to death in his car and Russell just barely escaped with his life.

After Russell fled the scene, officers responded to the grisly murder scene, where they found Brower covered in blood and the dead body of Friesner, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Brower eventually confessed, pleading guilty in May to the first-degree murder of Friesner and to the aggravated assault of Russell with a deadly weapon.

During the sentencing hearing, Farley said Brower offered Friesner and Russell a marijuana joint that was laced with fentanyl.

The men passed out in the backseat of Brower's car after smoking it, before waking up in a different location.

'Cameron indicated after only having taken a few hits, his memory goes black before waking up to his best friend being stabbed by the defendant while still in the back seat of the defendant's vehicle,' Farley said.

Russell has said he recalls waking up to see Brower wearing a 'devilish smile' as he repeatedly stabbed Friesner, according to Farley.

'Justin was the sweetest person I knew,' Russell said. 'It traumatized me. I could not sleep at night. I watched my own best friend die for no reason. The fact that he has no remorse or anything — it's sad.'

When Russell saw what was happening, he dove into the driver's seat and tried to speed away. The car got stuck in the gravel pit Brower had taken them to while they were unconscious, making escape impossible.

Judge Derrick O'Neill said that Friesner told him to get out of there, with what were likely his dying breaths.

Russell listened, exiting the car and running until he found workers at the airport whom he begged for help.

Boise Police Lt. Jake Nichols was the first to arrive 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 carjack him, but this story lacked credibility when evidence pointed to his motive to kill.

The knife Brower used was buried, and police also discovered a note on his phone expressing a desire to kill written hours before the murder.

The Ada County Coroner's Office determined that Friesner was dealt 16 stab wounds to the neck and chest, which caused his death. 

'Not a day goes by without me wishing I was there to protect him in those final moments, one last time,' Deslie Friesner, the victim's sister, said in court. 

'I can't imagine the way he felt in his final moments. The only piece we have is that he fought to the end because that's just who he was.'

Brower had a history of violent crimes and drug use, according to police records.

Prosecutors revealed Brower had completed an 18-month stint at a Boise rehab center just seven days before the murder. 

Brower's attorney Jonathan Loschi didn't 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 down at IHOP.

'They're eating when he starts having these hallucinations with voices of thought that these are bad guys who had done bad things, and I need to do something about this,' Loschi said. 'It was almost an out-of-body experience. He was not in his right mind.'

Like Brower, Friesner also struggled with a meth addiction, his mother Summer Friesner said in court.

'He had to be sober to come home, and 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 making headway 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.

'He said, "I’m almost 25. It’s time to grow up,"' his mother recalled.

Summer said her son was selfless and 'would do anything for anybody.'

'No matter how bad life was for him, he was always there to pick up anybody else. He always put his needs on the back burner for everybody else,' she added.

Brower addressed the court during the hearing and apologized for what he did. 

'I would just like to apologize to everyone that’s been affected by my actions, and know I’m here today willing and ready to accept whatever the consequences,' he said.

After sentencing him to life, O’Neill told Brower: 'I would hate to think that your soul is so vacant that this was entirely, unconditionally premeditated and deliberate and remorseless.'