Solved case · 2014
Also known as Diren Dede's death · Diren Dede death
The short answer
In April 2014, 17-year-old German-Turkish exchange student Diren Dede was shot and killed by Markus Kaarma inside Kaarma's garage in Missoula, Montana. Kaarma was later convicted of deliberate homicide and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
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Suggest coverage for Killing of Diren DedeOn April 27, 2014, Diren Dede, a 17-year-old German-Turkish exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, who was living in Missoula, Montana, was shot to death by Markus Kaarma. Dede had entered Kaarma's garage late at night looking for alcohol. According to prosecutors, Kaarma had deliberately set out to attract and then shoot a burglar after having been the victim of several recent burglaries at his property.
In December 2014, Kaarma was convicted of deliberate homicide, a charge equivalent to first-degree murder in other states. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after 20 years of incarceration. In February 2017, the Montana Supreme Court upheld Kaarma's conviction. The United States Supreme Court subsequently declined to hear an appeal at the federal level regarding whether Kaarma's Sixth Amendment rights had been violated and whether he had received an impartial jury. In July 2019, Missoula County District Judge Ed McLean, who had presided over Kaarma's trial and retired shortly afterward, denied Kaarma's request for a new trial based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, writing that Kaarma's attorneys had performed "within the wide range of professionally competent assistance."
The case drew attention to Montana's castle doctrine law, which had been amended in 2009 to allow the use of deadly force if a homeowner "reasonably believes" an intruder is attempting to harm them. The amendment was sponsored with backing from the National Rifle Association (NRA). Prior to the amendment, Montana law permitted homeowners to use deadly force only if an intruder acted in a violent manner. Kaarma claimed the castle doctrine justified his actions.
The killing attracted national and international attention, particularly in Germany, Dede's home country. NBC's Dateline television series profiled the incident in an episode that aired on April 30, 2015. Following Kaarma's guilty verdict, the gun-violence prevention organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America released a public statement through its Montana Chapter volunteer, Julia Starrett, stating that "justice prevailed over senseless and unnecessary gun violence" and that laws on the books had emboldened people "to shoot first and ask questions later."
Montana amends its castle doctrine law to allow use of deadly force if a homeowner 'reasonably believes' an intruder is attempting to harm them; amendment sponsored with NRA backing.
Diren Dede is shot and killed by Markus Kaarma after entering Kaarma's garage in Missoula, Montana.
Markus Kaarma is convicted of deliberate homicide and sentenced to 70 years in prison, eligible for parole after 20 years.
NBC's Dateline airs an episode profiling the incident.
The Montana Supreme Court upholds Kaarma's conviction.
Missoula County District Judge Ed McLean denies Kaarma's request for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
17-year-old German-Turkish exchange student from Hamburg, Germany, shot and killed in Missoula, Montana on April 27, 2014.[3]
Convicted in December 2014 of deliberate homicide for shooting Diren Dede; sentenced to 70 years in prison, eligible for parole after 20 years. Conviction upheld by the Montana Supreme Court in February 2017.[3]
From the record
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