Man expected to plead guilty to Jefferson County murder
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RIGBY — An Idaho Falls man is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to killing a man in Jefferson County last year.
Jesse Gentle, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder after investigators say he shot and killed Merle Jay Sorensen, 72, at a Jefferson County home on Nov. 17, 2020.
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The change of plea hearing for Gentle is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Details of whether a plea agreement was reached in the case were not immediately available.
Prosecutors have been seeking the death penalty against Gentle.
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Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies discovered Sorensen’s body in a bathroom at the home of Gentle’s aunt. Gentle and Sorensen were at the house and were reportedly using drugs leading up to the slaying.