The suspect accused of murdering a three-year-old and brutally injuring eight other refugees in a knife attack Saturday night in Boise has a checkered, long history of violence and criminal activity including convictions for felony assault, drug dealing and felony theft.
The suspect is 30-year-old Timmy Kinner; he’s now facing a first-degree murder charge after the three-year-old victim passed away Monday at a hospital in Utah. That charge is on top of 15 other felony charges in the incident, including nine charges of felony aggravated battery and six felony charges of injury to a child. A total of nine refugee victims, including six children, were hospitalized after the attack.
Kinner’s prior run-ins with law enforcement date back to at least 2006. He’s been sentenced for a number of felony convictions including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft, according to court records. That’s on top of many additional misdemeanor convictions on drug charges, indecent exposure and traffic offenses.
Most of those convictions occurred in Tennessee, where he grew up.
The suspect’s grandmother, Rethea Kinner of Memphis, Tennessee was surprised to hear of the stabbing incident. “I’ve never known Timmy to do nothing like that,” said Rhea Kinner. “He’s been locked up but I’ve never known him to do a crime like that.”
Rethea Kinner said her grandson Timmy had called her about a week ago from Idaho, and said he was doing fine and looking for work. She also said her grandson did not have a history of mental illness that she was aware of.
As a convicted felon, Timmy Kinner was not allowed to carry a firearm, but his court records show that he was convicted of unlawfully possessing a weapon after becoming a convicted felon. But there’s no restriction on felons carrying knives in Idaho. Police believe that the murder weapon was a “large folding blade knife” that they retrieved from a canal near the crime scene.
Just this past April, Kinner was in Utah where he was convicted on misdemeanor theft charges for stealing a wallet. The Boise Police Department has referred to Kinner as a resident from Los Angeles, and emphasized that he was only in Boise for a short period prior to the attack.
Kinner could face the death penalty if convicted.
Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter @amandapeacher.
Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
