BOISE -- An Ada County jury has imposed the death penalty for convicted killer Darrell Payne.
This was the second time has been sentenced to die for the murder, rape and kidnapping of Boise State student Samantha Maher.
The 22-year-old was on her way to class along the Boise Greenbelt on July 6, 2000, when she was attacked, shot in the head and then dumped in a drainage tank.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Neville first sentenced Payne to death in 2002 following his conviction by a jury for first-degree murder. He also sentenced Payne to three life sentences for kidnapping, rape and robbery convictions.
In 2008, the Idaho Supreme Court upheld the convictions but remanded the case for resentencing on the first-degree murder conviction because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires a jury rather than a judge to decide whether the death penalty should be imposed.
The jury was seated on March 5 and took one week to hear evidence before reaching their verdict Friday afternoon.
Final sentencing is set for April 22.
