Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that a Third District Court judge sentenced Kidus Yohannes to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for the aggravated murder of Candace 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. Afterward, 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 Candace Samples' DNA profile.
On July 22, 2021, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and one count of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, 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 aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and one count of attempted manslaughter, a third-degree felony, an imperfect self-defense.
On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, a Third District Court judge sentenced the defendant to life without the possibility of parole for one count of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and 0-5 years for one count of attempted manslaughter, a third-degree felony.
At the sentencing, Mr. Plante, who survived being stabbed, spoke about how he has turned his life around and is now working at the Other Side Academy, helping others do the same. The couple who raised Ms. Samples talked about how wonderful it was to have her in their home as a little girl and watching her grow. They talked about the struggles that she faced, but they also talked about the loss they have been left with now that she is gone. Ms. Samples' loved ones prepared a video of her life that the judge allowed to be played in the packed courtroom at her sentencing.
“We appreciate the judge seeing the gravity of the defendant’s actions by giving him a sentence that will ensure there is no chance he will be released into the public. 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,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We thank our prosecutors John Ham and Jeremy McKinney, as well as our support staff and two victim counselors, David Detorres and Kobe Jeppesen for their years of work on this difficult case. We would like to acknowledge the thorough investigation conducted by Salt Lake City Police Detectives that helped lead to this guilty conviction.”