Father lounging in recliner stabbed over and over by son, who told police he was annoyed with him and ‘could not take his dad anymore’

On October 22, 2024, a horrific act of domestic violence fractured a family in East Central Spokane, Washington. What began as a routine afternoon at an apartment complex on South Thor Street ended in the brutal murder of 61-year-old Robert Eiffert. He was attacked by his own son, Damian C. Eiffert, then 38, while resting in his living room chair.

The crime—fueled by severe substance abuse, withdrawal, and a boiling over of long-simmering familial resentment—reached its legal conclusion on June 25, 2026. Damian Eiffert pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison. The case stands as a stark illustration of how untreated addiction, mental instability, and interpersonal strain can collide with catastrophic results.

The Fatal Incident: An Assault in the Recliner

On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Robert Eiffert was lounging in a recliner inside his apartment at 29 S. Thor Street. It was a space he shared with his son, Damian, who had lived with him off and on since childhood.

According to police investigative files and court documents, an argument erupted between the two men. Damian wanted a ride across town to check into a drug treatment facility. Robert allegedly refused the request. Damian later told investigators he grew deeply resentful because his father was willing to drive a friend to Kellogg, Idaho, but would not provide him with transport across town.

Compounding the tension was Damian’s severe state of intoxication and physical distress. He later admitted to authorities that he had been smoking methamphetamine and was “getting extremely high,” while simultaneously experiencing painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

The volatile mix of chemical impairment, withdrawal sickness, and rejection proved explosive. Driven by an overwhelming wave of hostility, Damian retrieved a steak knife from the kitchen. He approached his father, who was still seated in the recliner, and began stabbing him repeatedly. The attack was concentrated on Robert’s head, neck, and chest.

A Fatal Flight and Direct Confessions

The violence did not stop at the recliner. Evidence collected by Spokane Police Department detectives revealed a heavy trail of blood leading from the living room chair to the front entrance of the apartment building. Bleeding profusely from multiple deep wounds, Robert managed to drag himself out of the apartment in a desperate bid to find help. He collapsed on the front porch.

A neighbor noticed Robert lying motionless in the doorway and rushed to investigate. As the neighbor approached, Damian exited the apartment, casually stepped over his father’s bleeding, unresponsive body, climbed into Robert’s Nissan Altima, and sped away from the scene. Emergency medical personnel arrived shortly thereafter, but Robert Eiffert succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on the porch.

Almost immediately after fleeing, Damian began placing phone calls and meeting with loved ones to confess to the crime. At approximately 3:15 p.m., he called his mother, Raeline Eiffert. She later told homicide detectives that her son sounded “amped up and all over the place.” During the frantic conversation, Damian admitted that he had smoked meth, was suffering from withdrawal, and had just killed his father because he “could not stand his dad anymore.”

Shortly after speaking with his mother, Damian used his father’s cell phone to contact an ex-girlfriend. He drove to an alleyway behind her residence in Northeast Spokane. When she came out to meet him, she noticed he was driving his father’s car—something Robert never permitted. Damian embraced her and said flatly.

Damian then left the alley and met up with another acquaintance in the Bemiss neighborhood, where he abandoned his father’s blood-stained Nissan Altima and hitched a ride with a friend. His ex-girlfriend, horrified by the confession and noticing blood on Damian’s hands, contacted law enforcement.

The Highway Standoff and Arrest

The search for Damian Eiffert intensified overnight. On the morning of Wednesday, October 23, 2024, a Washington State Patrol trooper spotted a vehicle matching the description of the car Damian was riding in. The trooper attempted a traffic stop on Interstate 90 near the community of Sprague.

Damian refused to comply, forcing the vehicle to the shoulder and triggering an immediate shutdown of the interstate. Local law enforcement, state troopers, and a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team swarmed the area.

For several hours, Damian engaged in a tense, high-stakes standoff with tactical units, refusing to exit the vehicle or cooperate with orders. The standoff ended when police deployed a K-9 unit to apprehend him. Damian attempted to flee on foot down the side of the highway but was quickly bitten by the police dog, subdued, and taken into custody. He was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries before being booked into the Spokane County Jail.

Investigation, Background, and Legal History

When detectives processed the crime scene at the South Thor Street apartment, they discovered a grisly sequence of events. A steak knife, covered in blood, lay on the living room floor directly in front of the recliner. The chair itself was heavily stained with blood, confirming that the attack began while the older man was resting. Scattered across the living room table and surrounding furniture was an assortment of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia, corroborating the heavy substance abuse that preceded the killing.

During his initial interviews with detectives, Damian initially admitted to being at the apartment and detailed the argument regarding the ride to rehab. However, he quickly requested legal counsel and stopped answering specific questions. Later, in an interview with local television station KHQ from inside the jail, Damian attempted to recant, claiming he had no memory of the afternoon and denying that he committed the murder. He asserted that his last clear memory was being attacked by the police K-9 on the highway.

Prosecutors built an airtight case against him, leveraging the physical evidence from the apartment, the trail of blood, and the independent testimonies of his mother and ex-girlfriend, both of whom received immediate, explicit confessions.

Court records also highlighted Damian’s extensive history with the law. At the time of his arrest, he had:

• 8 felony convictions
• 10 adult misdemeanors
• 40 separate failures to appear (FTAs) in court
• 2 active arrest warrants

Plea and Sentencing

The case avoided a lengthy, painful trial for the family when Damian agreed to a plea deal. On Thursday, June 25, 2026, he appeared before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III and entered a formal guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder.

During the sentencing hearing, the deep emotional tragedy of the case was on full display. Despite the horrific nature of the crime, Raeline Eiffert and other extended family members attended the court proceedings to support Damian. His mother expressed that while the family was utterly devastated by the loss of Robert, they chose to stand by Damian as he faced the consequences of an act driven by severe addiction and mental health struggles.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Degen outlined the state’s position, noting the sheer brutality of an assault launched against an unsuspecting victim resting in a chair. Ultimately, Judge Clarke handed down a sentence of 257 months—equivalent to 21.4 years—in a state correctional facility. The sentence represented the absolute lower end of the standard Washington state sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder, which can carry up to 30 years for individuals with extensive criminal histories.

Damian Eiffert began serving his 21-year sentence immediately following the judge’s order, closing a dark chapter for the Spokane community and leaving a family to mourn a father lost to an unthinkable act of domestic violence.