Son stabbed father sitting in recliner, then jumped over his dying body to leave

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Inset: Damian Eiffert in court. Background: The Washington state home where Damian Eiffert murdered his father (KREM/YouTube).

Inset: Damian Eiffert in court. Background: The Wash. home where Damian Eiffert murdered his father (KREM/YouTube).

A Washington state man is headed to prison after plunging a steak knife into his father's neck, head and chest while he was lounging in a recliner.

Damian Eiffert, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his father, Robert Eiffert, 61. The younger Eiffert was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison by a Spokane County Superior Court judge. He had nearly a dozen felony convictions at the time of his arrest in 2024.

"On October 22nd, 2024, at 2:29pm SPD responded to the area of Thor and 1st Avenue in East Spokane on a report of a stabbing," the Spokane Police Department said in a press release announcing Eiffert's arrest. "Upon arriving, a male victim was located with stab wounds. Despite lifesaving efforts by medical professionals, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene."

Eiffert's arrest affidavit says he asked his father "for a ride to treatment but he said no," according to local CBS affiliate KREM. Robert Eiffert, aka "Boby," was sitting in his recliner when Damian Eiffert got "amped up" and stabbed him repeatedly.

"The defendant stated he could not take his dad anymore and stabbed him to death," KREM reported.

According to police, Damian Eiffert admitted to smoking methamphetamine and being ill from opioid withdrawal at the time of the slaying. His mother told investigators he was "all over the place" during a phone call with her shortly after the murder.

Damian Eiffert also called his ex-girlfriend after the killing and asked her to meet him in a nearby alley, later telling her, "I love you … I'm done. …I just killed my dad," according to the affidavit.

A neighbor reportedly found Robert Eiffert "all cut up" and lying in their apartment building's doorway. Another resident told police he saw Robert Eiffert lying on the front porch with blood coming from his neck and chest. He said he saw Damian Eiffert exit, jump "over Boby's body," then drive away in his father's car.

Surveillance video showed Damian Eiffert leaving through the front door with a dog and walking to a nearby car. The footage also showed Robert Eiffert walk out and slump over just outside the door, KREM reports.

Washington State Patrol found Damian Eiffert later that day with his father's car, which was "disabled" on Interstate 90 near Cheney.

"Eiffert was uncooperative with WSP and stated he had a gun on his person, while reaching for his waistband area," the SPD release said. "County Negotiators communicated with Eiffert in an effort to facilitate his surrender. He continued to be uncooperative making comments that someone from law enforcement was going to die. Eiffert was observed getting in and out of the vehicle with items in his hands."

Damian Eiffert fled from the vehicle on foot and was detained a short distance away, according to the SPD release. Prosecutors say he was facing nearly 30 years in prison after entering his guilty plea, with his 21-year sentence falling on the low end of the standard sentence range, The Spokesman-Review reports.