GOODING, ID – In southern Idaho, a 16-year-old has been sentenced to decades in prison for his role in a brutal murder that left a community grasping for answers. The sentencing came after Rolan Delacruz, now 17, admitted to killing 18-year-old Dax Richins, whose remains were discovered months after he went missing earlier this year.
Delacruz, tried as an adult, received a sentence of 23 years to life in the Idaho Department of Corrections. The penalty was handed down Monday by a Gooding County judge, bypassing any possibility of juvenile detention and ensuring Delacruz would serve his time in an adult facility.
Authorities say Delacruz, along with 18-year-old Alexander Garcia, lured Richins to a secluded stretch of land in Gooding County under the pretense of attending a bonfire. Instead, the two teens launched a violent attack, beating Richins with brass knuckles and stabbing him repeatedly before leaving his body hidden in the area.
According to investigators, Delacruz and Garcia returned to the site the following day, dismembering the victim and burying the remains in a shallow grave. Law enforcement officials reported that certain body parts were specifically removed to make identification more difficult, a detail that underscored the gruesome intent behind the crime.
Digital evidence collected during the investigation painted a chilling picture. Court documents reveal Garcia made videos on Snapchat discussing the crimes, including references to physically disfiguring a human skull. Detectives also recovered messages Garcia sent to acquaintances, bragging about having killed someone. In Garcia’s truck, authorities found a human bone, which he allegedly described as a keepsake.
Richins’ skull was recovered on the rim of Snake River Canyon in September, with other remains located nearby. The discovery ended an exhaustive search that had gripped the region since the teenager’s disappearance in June.
Family members of the victim attended Monday’s sentencing, voicing the pain and loss they have carried since learning of their son’s fate. Richins’ father spoke in court, reflecting on the deep sense of senselessness the crime had left in its wake.
Prior to being sentenced, Delacruz addressed the court, expressing remorse and acknowledging the severity of his actions. He described being haunted nightly by memories of the incident, stating that he accepted whatever punishment the court deemed appropriate.
Garcia, who was 17 at the time of the killing but is now 18, pleaded guilty earlier and was sentenced in October to 25 years to life. Both young men’s sentences ensure they will spend significant portions of their lives behind bars.
Another individual connected to the case, 23-year-old Nathaniel Felix, faces charges of being an accessory to murder and destruction of evidence. Felix has entered a plea of not guilty, with a trial scheduled to begin in February 2026.
The case has cast a long shadow over the community, raising troubling questions about youth violence and the circumstances that can push teenagers toward such extreme acts. As the community continues to grapple with the loss, the judicial system has delivered its verdict, offering some measure of closure for Richins’ grieving loved ones.