PHOENIX — Nearly seven years after a deadly encounter on Interstate 10, the man responsible for killing Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Tyler Edenhofer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
On Thursday, a judge handed down the sentence to 28-year-old Isaac King, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. The case stemmed from a July 25, 2018, incident in the West Valley that began with reports of a man throwing rocks at passing vehicles.
Trooper Edenhofer, 24, was among three officers who responded to remove King from the roadway. As troopers attempted to detain him, a violent struggle broke out. During the altercation, King seized another trooper’s firearm and fired two shots. One struck Edenhofer, who later died at a hospital. Another trooper was shot in the shoulder and survived after receiving medical treatment.
King was also injured in the fight and was hospitalized before being booked into jail. Initially pleading not guilty to murder and related charges, he changed his plea in January 2025, accepting responsibility for the killing under the terms of a negotiated deal.
The sentencing brings closure to a case that deeply impacted Arizona’s law enforcement community and left lasting scars on those who served alongside Edenhofer.
