No death penalty for woman accused of four murders
EVERETT, Wash .-- Snohomish County prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a woman accused of taking part in a double murder of her alleged accomplice's father and stepmother.
Holly Ann Grigsby is charged in Washington state with two counts of aggravated first degree murder. With the decision Friday, her only sentencing option if convicted is life in prison without parole. She also faces murder charges in Oregon and California.
Grigsby, along with her boyfriend David "Joey" Pedersen, are accused of murdering Pedersen's father, David "Red" Pedersen, and his stepmother, Leslie Pedersen. They are also charged in two other murders in a crime spree that spanned three states. David Pedersen pleaded guilty in March to the Washington murders and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
"There is ample evidence that co-defendant David J. Pedersen’s hatred for his father was the primary motivation for these crimes," Snohomish County prosecutor Mark Roe wrote in a statement announcing his decision. "Unarguably, the nature of this defendants alleged physical acts, committed against a completely innocent victim, Leslie Pederson, almost defy description. Still, this defendant had no violent criminal history previous to this, is quite young at 24, and appears to have been following the lead of David J. Pedersen."
Roe said the earlier decision not to seek the death penalty against David Pedersen also factored in the decision.
Holly Ann Grigsby is charged in Washington state with two counts of aggravated first degree murder. With the decision Friday, her only sentencing option if convicted is life in prison without parole. She also faces murder charges in Oregon and California.
Grigsby, along with her boyfriend David "Joey" Pedersen, are accused of murdering Pedersen's father, David "Red" Pedersen, and his stepmother, Leslie Pedersen. They are also charged in two other murders in a crime spree that spanned three states. David Pedersen pleaded guilty in March to the Washington murders and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
"There is ample evidence that co-defendant David J. Pedersen’s hatred for his father was the primary motivation for these crimes," Snohomish County prosecutor Mark Roe wrote in a statement announcing his decision. "Unarguably, the nature of this defendants alleged physical acts, committed against a completely innocent victim, Leslie Pederson, almost defy description. Still, this defendant had no violent criminal history previous to this, is quite young at 24, and appears to have been following the lead of David J. Pedersen."
Roe said the earlier decision not to seek the death penalty against David Pedersen also factored in the decision.
