IDAHO FALLS — A longtime friend of an 18-year-old accused of murder said he is a “good kid” who recently had some traumatic experiences in his personal life.
Brian J. Mitchell has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing Deraek Larson on a playground structure at Tautphaus Park on Sunday, Aug. 16. Police said Larson was stabbed more than 20 times with a knife.
Shelley native Austin Perez calls himself one of Mitchell’s best friends and describes their relationship as “like brothers.” Perez told EastIdahoNews.com he and Mitchell grew up together and lived in Mitchell’s mother’s Idaho Falls home until recently.
“He moved out and was basically homeless,” Perez said. “He bounced around friends’ houses and stayed with whoever he could.”
Mitchell was raised in Shelley and dropped out of school his freshman year, Perez said. That same year, Perez said, Mitchell was raped by a friend’s male relative.
“It was traumatizing, and Brian changed,” Perez said. “His temper changed, and he would snap if things weren’t going right.”
Perez does not know the name of the man who allegedly raped Mitchell, but he said a police report was never filed, the man was never charged and he moved out of Idaho.
During Mitchell’s probable cause hearing Thursday, Idaho Falls police detective Joshua Deede told the court, that during interrogation, Mitchell said he attacked Larson in response to an attempted sexual assault.
Perez said over the past few years, Mitchell had gotten into drugs and has had run-ins with the law.
Mitchell was charged as a juvenile for misdemeanor battery in November 2009, after he stabbed another child twice with a pencil in middle school, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported Friday. He was placed on probation, and that charge was later dismissed.
In February, Mitchell was convicted of resisting or obstructing an officer. He was again placed on probation and, according to court records, a mental health evaluation was ordered. EastIdahoNews.com has requested court documents from Bonneville County regarding those charges.
“He didn’t want on his record that he had a mental illness,” Perez said.
Perez said even though Mitchell has personal problems, he was fun to hang out with. The pair often went camping or rock climbing and he and Mitchell volunteered at the animal shelter, Perez said.
Perez last spoke to Mitchell a few days before he was arrested on the murder charge.
Mitchell is in a maximum security section of the Bonneville County Jail, and Perez said he is not allowed visitors.
“He’s allowed to call people, but he doesn’t know anybody’s number because he doesn’t have his phone,” Perez said.
Mitchell is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Sept. 2. Perez plans to be there and hopes to attend all of Mitchell’s court hearings.
EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to Mitchell’s family and Larson’s family for comment on the case. Since Mitchell’s arrest Thursday, Aug. 20, neither family has been willing to speak on the record.
Reporter Lindsey Johnson contributed to this story.
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