Meaghan Rice would conspire with one of her boyfriends, David Paulson, to murder another boyfriend Randall Mercier. According to court documents in Arizona, Maeghan Rice would pick up Randall Mercier with David Paulson hiding under a blanket in the back seat of the truck. When the victim was inside of the vehicle he would be brutally stabbed by Paulson. Meaghan Rice who was sixteen years old at the time of the murder would take four years to go to trial where the teen killer would be sentenced to twelve and a half years in prison. David Paulson would receive a life sentence.
Meaghan Rice 2023 Information
| Last Name First Name Middle Initial RICE MAEGHAN |
| Gender Height (inches) Weight Hair Color FEMALE 64 118 BROWN |
| Eye Color Ethnic Origin Custody Class Admission BLUE CAUCASIAN Medium/High 08/19/2011 |
| Projected Eligible Release Date Prison Release Date Release Type 12/21/2020 Sentence Expiration Date |
| Most Recent LocationAs of DateComplexUnit Last Movement Status PERRYVILLEAS PC-PV LUMLEY MDM 02/28/2018 ACTIVE |
Meaghan Rice Other News
A 20-year-old Apache Junction woman was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with a case where she conspired with one of her boyfriends to kill another out of jealously while driving him in a pickup truck in 2008.
Meaghan Rice was sentenced for the crime in Pinal County Superior Court before Judge Boyd Johnson on Monday, three years after 17-year-old Randall Mercier bled to death in a ditch along Tomahawk Road north of Superstition Boulevard after he was attacked by David Paulson, also 17.
On June 20, 2008, Rice, then 16, picked up Mercier while Paulson hid under a blanket in the back cruiser cab of the truck. Rice said a code word for Paulson who killed Mercier out of jealousy, according to Capt. Tom Kelly, a spokesman for the Apache Junction Police Department. Paulson stabbed Mercier at least 20 times before the boy was able to escape from the truck and collapse in the ditch where he died.
Paulson was found guilty of first-degree murder on Friday by a jury in Pinal County Superior Court before Judge Gilberto Figueroa for killing Mercier.
After the crime, Paulson fled to Salt Lake City, where he later was captured by the U.S. Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force.
More than 500 people attended a candlelight vigil for Mercier and more than 400 people attended his funeral.
Kelly said Meaghan Rice played one boyfriend off the other who both were jealous of each other, but Mercier was the one who wound up getting killed.
A sentencing date for Paulson has not been scheduled.
Paulson and Rice, who both were tried as adults, have been incarcerated in a Pinal County jail since the crime.
Meaghan Rice More News
A man who stabbed an Apache Junction teenager to death in 2008 when he was himself a teenager was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
Both David Paulson, 21, and Randall Davis-Mercier were 17 when Maeghan Rice, 16, picked up Mercier the evening of June 20, 2008, in a pickup truck. According to police, Rice then said a code word that triggered Paulson to come out from his hiding place under a blanket and stab Mercier as many as 20 times, reportedly out of jealousy. Mercier was able to escape the truck, but collapsed and bled to death on the side of the road.
Paulson was found guilty by a Pinal County jury following a two-week trial last month. Rice, a Gold Canyon resident, was then Paulson’s 16-year-old girlfriend.
After the killing, Paulson fled to Salt Lake City, where he later was captured by the U.S. Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force.
“David Paulson committed a particularly heinous crime,” said Pinal County Attorney James Walsh. “This was a long and hard trial for the victim’s family, and I want to offer my condolences.”
More than 500 people attended a candlelight vigil for Mercier, and more than 400 went to his funeral.
Rice, now 20, has been held in the Pinal County Adult Detention Center since her arrest. She was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for second-degree murder in connection with the killing.
Paulson, who has been kept in the Pinal County Adult Detention Center since the crime, will be eligible for parole after he serves 25 years in prison, according to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office.
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David Paulson 2021 Information
| Last Name First Name Middle Initial PAULSON DAVID S |
| GenderHeight (inches)WeightHair ColorMALE68186BLACK |
| Eye Color Ethnic Origin Custody Class Admission BROWN CAUCASIAN Medium/Low 09/21/2011 |
| Projected Eligible Release Date Prison Release Date Release Type Life LIFE |
| Most Recent LocationAs of DateComplexUnitLast MovementStatusYUMAASPC-Y CHEYENNE UNIT05/08/2019ACTIVE |