Darrell Hoadley

Chester Allan Poage (July 4, 1980 – March 13, 2000) was an American man who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by three men in Spearfish, South Dakota, on March 13, 2000.

Elijah Page, Briley Piper, and Darrell Hoadley were convicted of the torture and murder of Poage.

Page and Piper were sentenced to death, while Hoadley was sentenced to life in prison.

Chester Allan Poage was born on July 4, 1980, in Norton County, Kansas.

He grew up on a farm just outside Norton, but moved with his family to Rapid City, South Dakota in 1994.

In 1996, his father committed suicide, just days after his parents had filed for divorce.

The family moved back to Norton, but later moved to Spearfish, South Dakota while Poage was at college.

Prior to his death, Poage was attending Northwest Kansas Technical School, and was a half-year from graduating in communications technology.

On the evening of March 12, 2000, Page, Piper, and Hoadley met up with Poage at his family home in Spearfish.

The four of them were friendly, and had met up to play video games together.

Poage's mother and sister were in Florida on vacation at the time, meaning that the house was empty.

Later on, the four of them left the house, and drove in Poage's Chevrolet Blazer to the house where Page, Piper, and Hoadley were staying.

Once inside, Page produced a .22 caliber pistol, which he had stolen from Poage's home, and ordered Poage to get on the floor.

The three men planned to rob Poage's family home, and did not want a witness to the crime.

As Poage lay on the floor, he was kicked repeatedly by Piper until he was unconscious.

He was then tied up with a cord and placed in a chair.

Piper put a tire iron across Poage's feet to prevent him from moving.

When Poage regained consciousness, he pleaded with his attackers to let him go, but they refused.

Instead, he was forced to drink beer containing crushed pills and hydrochloric acid.

His ATM card was then taken from him by Page.

The perpetrators then discussed their plan to murder Poage while they stood in front of him.

Poage was forced into his own vehicle, and was driven approximately seven miles to Higgins Gulch, a remote wooded area in the Black Hills.

He was ordered out of the vehicle and pushed into thick snow.

He was stripped naked, apart from his undershirt, shoes, and socks.

Poage was then escorted downhill toward a small icy creek.

During the walk, he was beaten repeatedly until he was forced to lie down in the creek, where he was attacked again.

As Poage lay in the creek, he was stabbed in the neck by Page with a knife.

The three men then decided it was time to kill him.

Poage requested to be let into his vehicle so he could warm himself up.

He said he preferred to bleed to death in the warmth, rather than freezing to death in the cold.

Piper agreed to the request if he washed blood off his body first.

As Poage washed himself, Piper changed his mind, and Poage was violently dragged back into the creek by the three men as they attempted to drown him.

Poage was then finally killed by having rocks thrown at his head.

Page later stated that he and Hoadley ended Poage's life by dropping several large rocks on his head.

Piper's brief contends that he did not take part in the drowning attempt or stabbings.

Piper argues that he had returned to Poage's vehicle as he was being killed.

According to Piper, Hoadley was the one that threw the final rock which killed Poage, but at that point in time, Piper was not there to personally witness the murder.

However, Piper allegedly admitted standing on Poage's neck to assist Hoadley in drowning him, and then reportedly stabbed Poage twice.

Page was executed by lethal injection on July 11, 2007, becoming the first person to be executed in South Dakota since 1947.

Piper remains on death row, and is the only person left on death row in South Dakota.