The gunman later admitted second-degree murder and received a prison term of more than 23 years.
CLARKSTON, Wash. — David E. Boyd was back inside his apartment when he called 911 and told authorities he had shot his next-door neighbor, beginning a murder investigation that would end 16 months later with a guilty plea and a 280-month prison sentence.
Clarkston police responding to the Jan. 28, 2025, call found 53-year-old Chad VanScotter dead at the neighboring apartment on the 1200 block of Ash Street. Boyd, then 76, admitted using a .38-caliber revolver during a confrontation that he said followed months of arguments and frustration over loud music. Now 78, Boyd pleaded guilty June 12, 2026, to second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Boyd told investigators that before making the emergency call, he had considered killing himself. He said he returned to his apartment after shooting VanScotter and planned to use the same gun on himself because he did not want to go to prison. He could not bring himself to do so, according to the probable cause affidavit, and contacted authorities instead. Officers recovered the revolver when they searched his residence.
The decision to call 911 did not erase evidence that police said pointed to intent before Boyd went next door. Inside his apartment, investigators found handwritten material referring to the neighbor and describing an intention to kill him and then die by suicide. Another note addressed what should happen to Boyd’s property and financial information if he were found dead. The documents became part of the basis for the first-degree murder charge initially filed against him.
Boyd gave police a different explanation for the timing of the notes. He said the statement about VanScotter had been written earlier on the day of the shooting, but he denied that he had already decided to go to the neighboring apartment. He said the other note was much older and had been prepared during a period of health problems. Investigators nevertheless concluded that he had armed himself and intentionally initiated the confrontation after writing about killing his neighbor.
The shooting was the final event in what Boyd portrayed as a prolonged noise dispute. He told detectives that VanScotter had bullied him for months by playing music loudly enough to keep him awake. Boyd said he had previously contacted police about noise but believed officers could not stop it. The affidavit recorded those statements as Boyd’s account; available reports did not include an independent determination that VanScotter had been deliberately harassing him.
On the afternoon of Jan. 28, Boyd said, VanScotter came home and placed a speaker or radio against the wall dividing their apartments. He told police the sound included music connected to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The apparent contrast between a children’s television song and the violence that followed drew attention to the case, but the court records described a broader disagreement involving repeated noise complaints rather than a dispute over the meaning or content of one song.
Boyd said he heard the music even while using earphones to watch television. He told investigators he was hard of hearing and wore the earphones as a courtesy to his neighbors. Later, he tried to sleep but said the music continued. He believed the speaker was moved closer to his bedroom after the sound briefly stopped and then resumed. According to the affidavit, he became increasingly angry and said he could no longer tolerate the situation. Instead of making another noise complaint, Boyd picked up the loaded revolver and walked to VanScotter’s door shortly before 9 p.m. He later told detectives he chose a direct confrontation because he feared police would treat him as the aggressor if he called them. The affidavit did not explain why he believed that would happen. His decision to bring the firearm became a central fact in the criminal case.
Boyd said VanScotter answered with a long walking stick and struck or tried to strike him in the head. That account suggested a confrontation at the doorway, but another report citing the affidavit said Boyd acknowledged VanScotter was moving away when Boyd fired the first shot. VanScotter suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. The available accounts do not indicate that anyone else was physically injured.
After officers detained him, Boyd spoke openly about the shooting, according to court materials. He described VanScotter as a bully, said the neighbor deserved what happened and told investigators he felt relieved that the conflict had ended. Those remarks were allegations and opinions expressed by Boyd, not findings about the victim. They also provided prosecutors with statements showing Boyd’s state of mind immediately after the killing.
The initial first-degree murder charge would have required the state to prove the elements of that offense beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. No trial occurred. Boyd instead entered a negotiated guilty plea to second-degree murder, accepting responsibility for intentionally causing VanScotter’s death without requiring a jury to decide whether prosecutors could establish the original charge.
The second conviction involved Boyd’s possession of the revolver. Reports on the case said a prior criminal record, including a 2013 aggravated assault conviction, made it unlawful for him to have a firearm. That history also contributed to the decision to hold him without bond after his arrest. The firearm enhancement attached to the murder count added another sentencing consequence to the homicide conviction.
Boyd appeared before Asotin County Superior Court Judge Brooke Burns for both the change of plea and sentencing June 12. Prosecutor Curt Liedkie handled the case for the state, and defense attorney Rick Cuddihy represented Boyd. Burns ordered him to serve 280 months, or 23 years and four months, in prison. Reports describing the hearing did not include a complete breakdown of the sentence or a transcript of the judge’s remarks.
Because the plea and sentencing occurred during the same proceeding, the case moved directly from the resolution of the charge to the imposition of punishment. The agreement eliminated the uncertainty of a murder trial while replacing the first-degree count with a conviction carrying a lengthy prison term. Boyd had remained in custody without bond throughout the case, meaning the sentencing formalized a confinement that had begun on the night of the killing.
The public reports did not describe any future court date, pending trial issue or announced appeal. Boyd’s guilty plea and 280-month sentence therefore stand as the latest confirmed developments. The investigation that began with his own 911 call is no longer an unresolved allegation: It has resulted in convictions for murder and unlawful firearm possession in VanScotter’s death.
Author note: Last updated July 17, 2026.