DNA testing finally brings closure to a heinous Canyon County murder

Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue has brought closure to the brutal murder of a 9-year-old girl in Nampa 38 years ago. On April 5, Donahue announced that recent DNA testing incriminated a former Nampa resident, David Dalrymple, of the abduction, rape and murder of Daralyn Johnson on Feb. 4, 1982. Dalrymple is currently imprisoned for abusing other children.

Charles Fain, a Vietnam veteran who lived in the vicinity, was convicted of the crime in November 1983. As attorney general, I decided to personally argue against Fain’s appeal of the conviction and death sentence, mainly because of the heinous nature of the crime against a child victim. I also felt that Fain’s actions played into a popular narrative of the day that Vietnam veterans were depraved baby killers and that he had brought disgrace upon those who had served in Vietnam.