True Crime
Yohannes received life without parole for the aggravated murder of Candace Samples.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, Kidus Yohannes was sentenced to life without parole for the first-degree aggravated murder of Candace Samples, 20, in a November 2018 Salt Lake City stabbing over a stolen phone. FOX 13 News reported an additional 0 to 5 years for attempted manslaughter in the stabbing of Jeffrey Plante, who survived.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A life-without-parole sentence after a guilty verdict is the judgment on that count, not a charge still waiting for trial. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, Kidus Yohannes was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the first-degree aggravated murder of Candace Samples, FOX 13 News and KUTV reported. FOX 13 News reported the court also imposed 0 to 5 years for attempted manslaughter for stabbing Jeffrey Plante, who survived. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he hoped Samples’ family felt they had received some measure of justice, and that it was not perfect justice, because if it were she would still be in the community.
FOX 13 News reported that on Nov. 7, 2018, police responded behind a now-closed store at 477 North and 300 West after Samples took Yohannes’ phone at the Marmalade Library. The station reported he confronted Samples and another person inside a dumpster enclosure, pulled a knife, and stabbed Jeffrey Plante when Plante came to help. FOX 13 News reported Yohannes then stabbed Samples 20 times. She died after she was taken to the hospital. Plante survived after time in intensive care.
FOX 13 News reported Yohannes denied stabbing Samples or Plante, and that DNA from blood on his shoes matched Samples’ profile. KUTV reported the testing was completed in 2021, and that the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office then filed aggravated murder and attempted murder charges. KUTV reported a jury found him guilty of first-degree felony aggravated murder and third-degree felony manslaughter after a three-day trial, with sentencing just over a month later. FOX 13 News reported the murder conviction came over the summer and described the additional term as 0 to 5 years for attempted manslaughter. The life-without-parole term is the sentence imposed on the aggravated-murder conviction.
At sentencing, Sim Gill said, “We hope that Ms. Samples’ family feels they have received some measure of justice. We know it is not perfect justice; if it were perfect justice, Ms. Samples would still be in our community today,” FOX 13 News reported. KUTV reported the same statement. A prosecutor’s comment on a sentence already imposed is not a new verdict.
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