Ross sentenced to life in prison for two counts of first-degree murder
A case that had been going on for more than two years came to a close Friday morning when Richard Ross was sentenced to life in prison for two counts of first-degree murder.
Second District Judge Mark Monson handed down the sentence at the Nez Perce County Courthouse in Lewiston.
Ross, 58, of Lewiston, was charged Nov. 1, 2021, with murder for the death of Edwina “Eddy” Devin and her son, Michael Devin. He pleaded guilty by way of an Alford plea Dec. 7, 2023. An Alford plea is a guilty plea that recognizes that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, but the defendant can maintain their innocence, Monson said at the hearing. The plea agreement avoided a trial during which the death penalty would have been on the table; instead, Ross agreed to a life sentence.
About 40 people were in the courtroom Friday morning including members of the Devin family and officials from the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office, Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office and Lewiston Police Department.
"The sentence I'm going to impose is not going to be a surprise,” Monson said before announcing the sentence.
The Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office had facts and evidence presented at his change of plea hearing in early December that showed that Ross smothered, strangled or inflicted violence on Edwina Devin at her home in Grangeville the night of Sept. 30, 2021. Ross then suffocated or inflicted violence on Michael Devin in Lewiston on Oct. 1, 2021, and then burned his body in a truck.
Edwina Devin was found in the basement of her home with her hands bound, a ligature around her neck and duct tape over her mouth. There was flammable material around the body, some of it charred, including incense and items that smelled of diesel fuel. Her cause of death was determined to be from homicidal violence of strangulation, which was stated by prosecutors in Ross’ change of plea hearing.
In Lewiston, fire crews responded to a vehicle fire and found the body of Michael Devin burned in a truck. He had his hands handcuffed behind him. The cause of death was ruled as homicide by unspecified means.
The case was scheduled to go to trial Jan. 16 and the death penalty motion was filed in February 2022. Taylor and other public defenders with Ross had been arguing against the use of the death penalty in the case, which resulted in the trial being delayed and numerous motions being filed. When Ross entered his Alford pleas, the trial was vacated and the death penalty was dropped.
Nez Perce County Chief Deputy Prosecutor April Smith presented the case for the state and Anne Taylor was present as the public defender for Ross.
Ross was also named as a suspect in the strangulation death of Bruce and Lynn Peeples in their Grangeville home in 1994, but he hasn’t been charged in the case, according to previous Tribune reporting.
