Officials say driver was on suicide mission

BOISE – An Idaho man charged with beheading his wife, then causing an accident that killed a Boise woman and her 4-year-old daughter, was on a suicide mission, prosecutors said Friday.

Alofa Time, 50, of Nampa, was charged Friday in suburban Canyon County, west of Boise, with first degree-murder in the decapitation of his estranged wife, 47-year-old Theresa Time. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Prosecutors say Theresa Time’s headless body was found after Alofa Time, carrying the severed head in his Dodge Ram pickup, deliberately swerved into oncoming traffic, colliding with a sedan carrying Samantha Nina Murphy and her two daughters. The impact of the crash caused the head to fly onto the roadway.

Thursday’s collision, on a major arterial through downtown Boise, killed Murphy, 36, and daughter Jae Lynne Grimes, 4, both of Boise.

Murphy’s other daughter, 8-year-old Syndee Murphy, was in fair condition Friday at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

For his role in the car wreck, Alofa Time also faces two charges of second-degree murder in Ada County. At an arraignment Friday in 4th District Court in Boise, a magistrate judge set bond at $1 million and scheduled a preliminary hearing date later this month.

Prosecutors said Time pleaded with arresting officers to kill him. Police also found a suicide note and reported that he had set aside money for unspecified arrangements after his death.

Time stood for arraignment in the Boise courtroom via video conference from the Ada County Jail. His voice trembled as he answered questions from the magistrate judge.

If he meets the $1 million bond, authorities said Time will immediately be transferred and imprisoned in neighboring Canyon County, where a judge has already denied bail.

According to court records, Alofa Time had a history of abuse.

He faced domestic battery charges for allegedly choking his wife in March. A trial already was set for July 25. A judge issued a no-contact order, which barred Time from seeing his wife.

Theresa Time filed paperwork asking that the order be withdrawn. Last month, after she completed “Safety Planning Classes” at a local crisis center, the no-contact order was lifted.

The magistrate judge in Boise also said Time had a criminal record, stemming from spousal abuse incidents in California.