Man who fatally shot 6-year-old daughter may be released
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - A Marysville man who has served more than four years behind bars for shooting his 6-year-old daughter to death may be released soon.
A Snohomish County jury found Richard Peters guilty Tuesday of second-degree manslaughter.
The Daily Herald reports he was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter because jurors weren't convinced he acted recklessly in November 2008 when he asked his daughter Stormy to bring him his handgun.
Peters says it fired accidentally. Prosecutors said Peters had been drinking at the time of the incident. He told investigators that he did not know the handgun was loaded when he pointed it at his daughter.
Peters, who served in the Navy, told investigators that all of his kids handle guns, and that the weapon that discharged had a "hair-trigger."
This was his second trial. Peters was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 2009 and sentenced to more than 13 years in prison but won a new trial on appeal.
The sentence for second-degree manslaughter is five years, which is close to what he's already served.
A Snohomish County jury found Richard Peters guilty Tuesday of second-degree manslaughter.
The Daily Herald reports he was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter because jurors weren't convinced he acted recklessly in November 2008 when he asked his daughter Stormy to bring him his handgun.
Peters says it fired accidentally. Prosecutors said Peters had been drinking at the time of the incident. He told investigators that he did not know the handgun was loaded when he pointed it at his daughter.
Peters, who served in the Navy, told investigators that all of his kids handle guns, and that the weapon that discharged had a "hair-trigger."
This was his second trial. Peters was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 2009 and sentenced to more than 13 years in prison but won a new trial on appeal.
The sentence for second-degree manslaughter is five years, which is close to what he's already served.
Rule no.1 always handle a gun as if it were load. That does not mean point it at her head even with a child lock on it.DA
This is enough to make you sick. I don't see how that jury can live with themselves.Â
Let me get this straight, this guy:
1) Has gun with the safety off
2) Has a round chambered
3) Asks his 6 year-old daughter to get his gun for him without checking the gun first
4) Takes the gun and then points it at her
5) Pulls the trigger while the gun was pointed at someone
6) Oh yeah, he's also drunk.
You just broke every single rule in the book.
@Landshark While I agree with you on most, I just want to add that not all guns have safety's. But either way, this guy is an idiot and killed his child no matter what way you look at it.
Lawd help us all.....
Nowadays the standard for being a "good" parent has pretty much fallen to not actually killing them. And this dope cant even get that right.
Why did he needed the gun in a drunken state? Why did he asked a 6 year old to hand it to him when they have no business handling firearms loaded or otherwise? Back to jail you moron
@Lrry*x*K It was the third thing he did that made me SICK. Mark Roe should be ashamed of himself for letting this child killer out of jail. This makes me even sicker.
Does ANYONE actually believe that this was an "accident"? You'd have to be mentally slow to believe such a thing. And yet, this child murderer may be back out on Washington's streets only four years after gunning down a little kid?
Stay classy, Washington...
Guns and alcohol do not mix. Â Trust me on this one - my father was an alcoholic who always kept a loaded revolver in the living room. Â Ironically, the worst situation occurred when my mother got drunk ( not her usual MO); she thought the gun had to be cocked before it would fire and blew a hole through the wall of our trailer (yes, I was raised by trailer trash). Â I was a teenager at the time and had to ask my mom to hand over the gun. Â
For the record, the problem was not the gun; it was the alcohol.
This is such a tragedy, so easy to avoid - I'd hate to be this guy. This event could change him, might be for the better or it could get much worse.  Â
@izwideopen I think I'd sober up real fast with guilt like this! Plus my outlook on my kids handling guns would most likely change if I were him also. Im sure he has had a lot of regret.
Straight Arrow-I was thinking along the lines of ... if he has a drinking problem, the guilt of what he's done could make his drinking problem worse. I hope it goes better for him.  He's being given a 2nd chance and I hope he makes the best of it.Â
Where is the NRA (Jessie Jackson and Rev. Sharpton)? Will the NRA (Jessie Jackson, Rev. Sharpton) march to stand against this violence?Â
@lakeview You want to *itch call Mark Roe's Office.
@lakeview As one whom is known as critic of the NRA 's leaders, one in particuliar, I don't beleive the NRA's body of memebers condone this person's crime.
99%% of NRA memebers would never ask a 6 year old child to go get a gun-a gun with a hair trigger. If he would have asked an adult, most likely the adult would have not brought this drunk a gun.
It was NOT the NRA who decided this man was not reckless-as much as dislike Wayne Lapierre, I doubt he would agree with this jury.
You need to separte the politics of the day with the reality of this case.
@snoopy84Â Wayne LaPierre might not agree with the jury, but he'd be happy to hand the idiot another gun when he gets out of prison.
@lakeview OK already. Everybody gets your anti-NRA bias. Give it a rest. They, as well as the liberals you noted, would surely denounce this "person's" actions. What would you expect to see changed by a "march"? Man got drunk, had his child handle a gun, killed his child with same gun, was convicted and went to prison. One can only hope the memory of what happened has changed his life.
"He was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter because jurors weren't convinced he acted recklessly in November 2008 when he asked his daughter Stormy to bring him his handgun."
So asking your six year old to fetch your gun and then pointing at her because you thought it wasn't loaded t is not considered reckless? Sounds like we need to rethink how we select jurors. Maybe paying people $10 isn't a good idea. After all, you get what you pay for.
@AnarchyI was in the jury selection process for this case last week. I am honestly surrpised about the verdict as I thought the prosecution had chosen pretty well. Again this is based on only 5-6 hours of sitting with these people and listening to their comments. Honestly, so many of them were anti any guns I am surprised he wasn't stoned there in the courtroom. As a responsible gun owner and father of a 6 year old, I would have had a hard time not finding him guilty. YOU DONT DO ANYTHING WITH GUNS WHILE DRINKING! Plain and simple.Â
@BigRedBothell  I guess we really don't know since we weren't there. They can only convict if there is no longer reasonable doubt. I guess we should be thankful he got punishment at all.
@BigRedBothell @Anarchy where's the fun in shooting sober? drinkin beer an shootin is as 'merican as beer drinkin n shootin'!Â
@Anarchy The jury was probably filled with like minded gun idiots.Â
@lakeview @Anarchy You are NUTS
"He told investigators that he did not know the handgun was loaded..."
This is what I really "love" about so many handgun owners: they are unmitigated IDIOTS! Even Marysville police Officer Derek Carlile. IDIOTS.Â
@JLS1950Â seriously.. i am an avid gun owner/shooter.. EVERY TIME i handle a gun, 1st.. its ALWAYS LOADED.. 2nd .. CHECK TO VERIFY ITS LOADED.. 3rd .. NEVER POINT IT AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO SHOOT, BECAUSE THE GUN IS ALWAYS LOADED .. 4th .. always verify the unloaded gun twice.. safety safety safety.. blows my mind that people still have "accidents" with loaded guns. checking the chamber/removing the clip is so ingrained ... but alas.. once, many years ago, Kent police were "checking out" my gun and nearly shot his foot off because he didn't check..Â
@everyoneelse@JLS1950 Oh, I quite agree! There are responsible ways of handling firearms. The problem is that there are a whole lot of people who firmly believe they know all those responsible things to do, and in fact they HAVE NOT A CLUE!!! One comment I often hear on these boards is, "My dad taught me all about gun safety when I was knee-high to a grasshopper!" ... to which I want to ask, "who taught your dad? ...and who taught his dad? ...and have you taken a refresher course from a third party?"
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain
Well, if they are releasing people early because our jails are overcrowded, I'd rather someone with remorse for a stupid, drunk action be released than someone who kills their grandparents or police because they are holding a grudge or are mentally incapable of being a decent member of society. Just saying. I'm sure we can impose some restrictions upon this mans life that may prevent future problems. You can't fix crazy.
We wouldn't need all of these jails if people would behave the way they were supposed to.
@Straight Arrow If they would just let all the marijuana convictions out now, the prisons would not BE over crowded!
@JLS1950 No, but our roads would be with high drivers.Â
@Robinsnest @JLS1950 Well, that's sort of like saying that if we elected a Democrat for Governor it would be rainy in Seattle.Â
First, why would you ask a 6 year old child to fetch your handgun? What the hell? Its not the morning paper or a cup of coffee for godsake.
And second, why would you EVER point a gun at something you didn't want to shoot? That's the first rule of gun safety, only point your weapon at whatever you are willing to shoot, much less a 6 year old child.
I just can't buy any sincerity here. At the very least, his own stupidity should buy him another 5-10 years in prison, even if this was just an accident and a lapse in judgement. And if it wasn't, then he should spend life behind bars.
And this comes from a 100% supporter of 2nd Amendment rights who is against gun control. But he earned his prison time.
@Dredd57Â All you are saying is that some percentage of gun owners (a very LARGE percentage IMHO) are complete idiots with regard to gun safety. Ideally, we would require that one pass a written test and demonstrate physical knowledge of gun safety in order to obtain a license (analogous to a driver license) allowing one to own a handgun or to carry ANY firearm outside the home. But that would offend the NRA Second Amendment people (like yourself) who would call it an "infringement" on their right to pack heat.
He pointed the gun at his daughter? Seriously? That is horrible! No normal person would ever point a gun at their child, whether they thought it was loaded or not (and a responsible gun owner knows EVERY gun is ALWAYS loaded).Â
I just wonder if there is more to this story than "accident."
@WillowThere probably was "more" but it is hard to prove what or even if. Reportedly he was intoxicated, and IMO accidentally killing with a gun while intoxicated should be treated precisely like accidentally killing with a car while intoxicated.Â
The good news here is that he is now a convicted felon, so will not lawfully possess a firearm again. The bad news is that where he came from there are 100 more idiots who will buy a gun, think they know all about it (from watching CSI, COPS and several shoot-'em-up movies) will get drunk and play with said gun, and will have some sort of "accident". Look, if we cannot even trust a Marysville cop to be responsible with his firearm and his children, who on earth CAN we trust?
The fact he had her get it is almost a moot point. She was shot by him, who pointed it at her and pulled the trigger. What was he trying to do? Scare her? Punish her? Why did he need the gun brought to him in the first place? Â I don't agree with the first jury's decision.. not reckless? Â Then is there any instance that IS reckless? Because he was either reckless or malicious. Choose one.Â
@DT --- If the jury believed his story, and clearly they did, then, as defined by RCW 9A.08.010 he was criminally negligent. Â
(c) RECKLESSNESS. A person is reckless or acts recklessly when he or she knows of and disregards a substantial risk that a wrongful act may occur and his or her disregard of such substantial risk is a gross deviation from conduct that a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation.
(d) CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE. A person is criminally negligent or acts with criminal negligence when he or she fails to be aware of a substantial risk that a wrongful act may occur and his or her failure to be aware of such substantial risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation.
He is a drunk reckless POS who murdered his daughter. His excuses are crap. With his weapons training, he would have known better.  He should NEVER be let out of prison. He needs to stay in there and rot for killing that precious little girl. He knew the gun had a hair trigger and he still pointed it at her? Are you effin kidding me???
@The WA Mama --- Murder!?! Good grief. The state MUST prove that there was premeditated intent (for a first-degree murder charge and just intent for second degree) to cause the death of another person. Asking a child to bring you a firearm you believe is not loaded is not intent. I'd say it was reckless, but the jury disagreed. Second-degree manslaughter is a little light, in my opinion, but if the jury wasn't convinced he acted recklessly, then the prosecutor probably didn't have the evidence to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt. RCW 9A.32 is the statute on homicide in this state.
@Bianca @The WA Mama There are several degrees of murder, and only one requires premeditation. I cannot say what is right, except that it should be dealt with exactly as if he was similarly intoxicated and he killed with his car.
@Bianca @The WA Mama Â
Sounds like you've fallen for this guy's "spin". This was obviously an intentional murder. End of discussion.
@JLS1950 --- Actually, it was the "Jedi mind-meld" that I performed. Thank you every much. Â
@Whobeke @Bianca @The WA Mama We are so glad that you were there, saw the whole thing, and performed a Vulcan mind-meld to discern actual intent...Â
Unfortunately, all it takes is some dumb.ss with a firearm and an inflated sense of expertise to create a tragedy. The Dutch courage doesn't hinder at all either.
@Whobeke --- Oh, good grief. Prove premeditated intent. Go on, prove it. Bring forth the evidence of premeditated intent. The prosecutor couldn't even prove that he acted recklessly, which I would say he did. Regardless if you like it or not, not every innocent death is murder.
Is it normal for responsible gun owners to ask their 6 year old daughters to fetch them their loaded guns while drinking?Â
@lakeview well i'd wait until she was at LEAST six n a half.. i mean, there has to be SOME level of maturity ..Â
@lakeview There is nothing responsible at all about this guy.
@Dieseldog @lakeview Where is the NRA to speak out against this kind of behavior?Â
@lakeview @Dieseldog stop being so vindictively ignorant. the NRA doesn't go around defending people who are negligent with firearms.  The NRA promotes sane safe responsible and lawful firearms handling and ownership. Seriously, you are so completely lost on this topic. You should excuse yourself from the discussion before you get excused.
@lakeview @Dieseldog Saying this guy is a responsible gun owner is like saying a drunk driver who crossses the centerline and kills an innocent motorist is a responsible car owner.Â