Richard Albert Leavitt was born on November 12, 1958, in Idaho. He grew up in Blackfoot, a small town in southeastern Idaho. Leavitt came from a law-abiding family and was known in his community. He was married and had two sons, Travis and Timothy. He had a steady job and no history of violent crimes before his arrest for murder. However, he had a record of minor offenses, including misdemeanors and traffic violations.

On the night of July 18, 1984, 31-year-old Danette Jean Elg was brutally murdered in her home in Blackfoot, Idaho. Two days before her murder, on July 16, Elg had reported a prowler outside her house. Someone had cut her window screen, attempting to break in, but the intruder fled. Authorities believe that prowler was Richard Leavitt.

On July 18, Leavitt entered Elg’s home while she was asleep and attacked her in her bedroom. He stabbed her 15 times and mutilated her body, removing her sexual organs. The wounds were extreme, with deep cuts to her lungs, heart, stomach, chest, and brain. He left her body behind and did not report the crime.

Elg’s body remained undiscovered for three days. On July 21, Leavitt made two anonymous phone calls to the police, using a fake name, "Mike Jenkins." He gave details about Elg's disappearance that only the killer would know. Leavitt also started asking around about Elg, telling police that her co-workers had contacted him when she didn’t show up for work. However, no records proved anyone had actually called him. Police became suspicious, and with Leavitt present, they entered Elg’s home, where they discovered her decomposing body.

During the investigation, forensic evidence linked Leavitt to the crime. Blood tests showed that apart from Elg’s type A blood, there was also type O blood at the scene—matching Leavitt. Hospital records confirmed that he had visited a clinic with a deep cut on his finger, which investigators believed he got while stabbing Elg. Witnesses, including Leavitt’s ex-wife and a former mistress, testified that he had disturbing sexual interests that matched the gruesome way Elg had been mutilated.

Leavitt was arrested on February 25, 1985, and charged with first-degree murder. Despite claiming he was innocent, he was found guilty on September 25, 1985. On December 19, 1985, Judge H. Reynold George sentenced him to death, calling the murder "heinous" and "atrocious." Leavitt remained on death row for nearly 27 years, filing multiple appeals, but his conviction and sentence were upheld.

On June 12, 2012, Leavitt was executed by lethal injection at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution. He was the third person to be executed in Idaho since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Years later, Leavitt’s two sons, Travis and Timothy, were both convicted of rape. Travis was sentenced in 2024 to 25 to 50 years in prison for sexually assaulting and grooming a high school girl. He claimed in court that growing up with a father on death row had negatively shaped his life. His brother Timothy had also served time for sexual assault and was released on parole in 2022 after spending time in the same prison where their father had been held.

As of 2025, Richard Leavitt remains the most recent person to be executed in Idaho.