Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced a Third District Court jury found Kidus Yohannes guilty of first-degree aggravated murder for the 2018 stabbing death of Candance Samples.
On November 7, 2018, police received a call that two people had been stabbed behind the, now closed, Dollar Tree at 477 North and 300 West in Salt Lake City. Through the investigation, police learned that Ms. Samples had stolen the defendant’s phone while at the Marmalade Library. The defendant confronted Ms. Samples and Jacoby Allen about the phone while they were all in a dumpster enclosure behind the Dollar Tree. The defendant pulled out a knife and said he would use it if he did not get his phone back. Pamela Rees, A witness to the confrontation, told their friend Jeffrey Plante at a nearby 7-11 what was happening. Mr. Plante ran to the dumpster to help. Ms. Reese told police Mr. Plante was attacked as soon as he climbed into the dumpster enclosure. A witness, Gary Davies was in the enclosure when the defendant began to stab Mr. Plante, but Mr. Davies was able to climb over the dumpster wall enclosure when the defendant went after him. Mr. Davies then grabbed a large board, reentered the enclosure, and saw the defendant stabbing Ms. Samples. After, Ms. Rees opened the gates of the dumpster enclosure, and the defendant ran off.
Both Ms. Samples and Mr. Plante were taken to the hospital; Ms. Samples, who received 20 stab wounds to her head, arms and torso, died a short time after arriving at the hospital. Mr. Plante survived his injuries and was admitted to the intensive care unit at the University of Utah Hospital.
Surveillance footage from the 7-11 across the street from the dumpster showed the defendant with Ms. Samples entering and leaving the store together before the stabbing. Police located the defendant and took him into custody. The defendant denied that he had any involvement in the stabbings or that he had any knowledge of or interaction with either victim. When police interviewed the defendant, police recovered his shoes, which appeared to have blood on them. Forensic analysis was delayed but ultimately completed, and the blood matched the DNA profile of Candace Samples.
On July 22, 2021, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of first-degree felony aggravated murder charge, and one count of first-degree felony attempted murder charge against the defendant.
After delays including DNA testing, competency evaluations, and witness availability, the trial started on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, and concluded on Friday, August 7, 2026.
A Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of one count of first-degree aggravated murder and guilty with an imperfect self-defense for one count of first-degree attempted murder.
Sentencing is set for September 29, 2026.
“We grieve the loss of Ms. Samples with her parents, who have been involved in this process since the beginning. We appreciate their patience as this case worked its way through the justice system and the biological evidence in the case went through multiple levels of testing. That careful work helped make this case strong enough to assure a guilty verdict,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We appreciate the work of our prosecutors John Ham and Jeremy McKinney, as well as our support staff and two victim counselors, David Detorres and Kobe Jeppesen. We appreciate the Salt Lake City Police Detectives whose use of DNA technology helped ensure a conviction.