A suspect’s phone statements, witnesses, text messages and Ring evidence offer different perspectives on the confrontation that killed Rafael Valles.
RIGBY, Idaho — In the minutes after Rafael Cordova Valles Jr. was fatally shot, the man accused of killing him gave a deputy an explanation: Valles had kept advancing while Tristin John Chase held his daughter, ignored warnings to stay back and forced his way through a door, according to court records.
Other evidence described by investigators complicates that account. Witnesses said Chase, 22, produced a handgun while holding his 2-year-old daughter and that Valles tried to take the weapon because the child was in danger. Investigators also reviewed messages in which Chase allegedly threatened Valles before the confrontation. Those competing pieces of evidence now sit at the heart of a second-degree murder case arising from the Aug. 23 shooting at a home on Ashlyn Way in Rigby. The allegations have not been tested at trial, and Chase is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
Chase’s version reached investigators while officers and witnesses were still at the shooting scene. According to the probable cause materials described by local news organizations, Chase called one of the women at the house after leaving. She passed the phone to a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy. Chase said Valles had approached him while he was outside with his daughter and had continued coming toward him despite repeated warnings. Chase said he retreated into the residence, only for Valles to kick the door open, hit him with it and try to punch him.
Chase also appeared uncertain about the gunshot itself, according to the records. He asked whether his daughter was safe, then asked whether Valles had actually been shot. He told the deputy that he had not meant to fire and did not know how the gun discharged. Chase said he was driving around because he was overwhelmed and wanted time to calm down. After the call briefly ended, investigators said, he called back and again maintained that he had repeatedly told Valles to leave him alone and had not intended for anyone to be shot.
The witnesses at the house described a different critical moment. One woman told investigators that Chase was holding his daughter when he pulled the handgun from his waistband. She said the child was positioned in the potential line of fire. According to her account, Valles then moved to disarm Chase. Two shots followed. The available public reports do not provide a final forensic reconstruction establishing the exact mechanics of the struggle, and no court has issued a finding resolving whether the weapon was fired deliberately, accidentally or during a fight for control of it.
The confrontation itself did not arise without warning, according to the affidavit. Investigators said they examined text messages exchanged earlier that morning between Chase and a woman at the residence. The messages reportedly included threats directed at Valles and demands for his phone number. One threat referenced going to the place where Valles was staying and firing at it if the number was not provided. Another message indicated an intent to hurt him. Those statements may become important to prosecutors because they were allegedly made before the encounter Chase later described as an immediate response to Valles’ conduct.
The messages also emerged from a broader dispute at the home. One woman told police Chase had entered the residence against her wishes the previous night, would not leave and made her go to dinner with him. She also made allegations of prior unwanted sexual conduct. The woman reportedly told Chase by text the next morning that she wanted him out of her life and intended to contact police about a restraining order. Those accusations are part of the investigative record as reported by local media; they are not established criminal findings in the murder case.
Valles, 43, lived in Cedar Creek, Texas. According to investigators, he learned of the situation and became concerned after failing to reach one of the women for roughly two hours. He went to the Rigby home to check on what was happening. Police were told that Valles and Chase argued in the front yard. Their dispute then moved toward the doorway. What happened next is the point at which the different narratives converge on several basic facts: Chase had his daughter with him, a handgun was present, Valles moved toward Chase, two shots were fired and Valles was mortally wounded.
Electronic evidence captured only pieces of what followed. Investigators said Ring doorbell audio recorded a call for someone to contact 911 and a woman saying Valles was dead. The recording, as described in the charging materials, is evidence of the immediate aftermath rather than a complete recording of every action that preceded the gunfire. Police also reported finding a shell casing in a rock bed about 10 to 15 feet from the front door. Publicly available reports do not detail a completed ballistics analysis or other final forensic conclusions.
When officers reached the residence after reports of shots shortly after noon, they found one woman crying and holding the child and another performing CPR on Valles. Officers took over lifesaving efforts, but Valles died at the scene. The women identified Chase as the shooter and said he had left with the gun, according to police. The search quickly expanded beyond the residence as Rigby police notified surrounding law enforcement agencies and tried to determine where Chase had gone.
His telephone contact with the deputy provided authorities with another path toward an arrest. Chase remained on the road for part of the conversation and reportedly told the deputy he was panicking. Court records as reported by local news outlets also say Chase mentioned considering suicide because he feared imprisonment. Officers eventually directed him back toward Rigby. Shortly before 1 p.m., less than an hour after the shooting was reported, police stopped him near the 300 block of West First South and took him into custody.
The next day, Chase appeared in Jefferson County court on a second-degree murder charge. Judge Faren Eddins set his bond at $750,000. A no-contact order was also entered, according to reporting from the hearing. Chase was represented by public defender Jordan Crane. His initial court appearance did not decide whether his account of the shooting was accurate or whether prosecutors can prove the mental state required for the charge. Those questions depend on evidence and later court proceedings.
The evidence described so far illustrates the difference between what investigators can document and what remains unresolved. Police have witness statements, alleged pre-shooting threats, a defendant’s recorded or documented statements, a portion of Ring evidence and physical evidence from the scene. Those sources help establish a sequence, but they do not by themselves substitute for findings made through the judicial process. The degree to which Valles was trying to attack Chase, trying to protect the child, trying to control the gun or some combination of actions remains central to how the encounter may ultimately be litigated.
Early reporting said a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 3, but publicly indexed sources reviewed through Sept. 30 did not provide a reliable later account of the hearing or a subsequent disposition. Rigby police initially characterized the investigation as active. Until further verified court records emerge, the second-degree murder accusation and the competing descriptions contained in the affidavit remain allegations rather than a final determination of what Chase intended when Valles was shot.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 30, 2026.