Man admits role in Marysville grandmother’s beating death

Published 12:30 am Friday, July 24, 2009

EVERETT — Before a Snohomish County judge could even finish asking the man if he was responsible for killing a Marysville grandmother, Ryan Miller blurted out “guilty.”

Miller, 22, admitted Thursday that he helped beat Shirley Sweeton, 73, to death with a hammer during a burglary at the woman’s Marysville home.

Miller’s plea came less than two months after being charged with first-degree felony murder for the June 5 slaying.

Co-defendant Joshua Gilliam also is charged with murder. He is being evaluated at Western State Hospital to determine if he is capable of assisting in his own defense.

Both men have mental health problems and were patients at Compass Health.

Miller faces a minimum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced next month. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Janice Albert plans to ask for a 23-year sentence.

Miller’s attorney Natalie Tarantino, a Snohomish County public defender, told the judge Thursday that Miller suffers from some developmental disabilities but was found competent to stand trial for an unrelated incident in the recent past.

Tarantino and Albert both told Superior Court Judge David Kurtz they were reassured by mental health professionals that Miller understood what he was doing by pleading guilty to the murder charge.

“This did happen fast. He is extremely remorseful. This is what he wanted to do,” Tarantino said. “He really just wanted to get it over with it.”

Prosecutors could have charged Miller with aggravated first-degree murder. If convicted, Miller could have been sent to prison for life.

The prospect of an aggravated murder charge didn’t enter into plea negotiations, Albert said.

“He didn’t plead guilty to get leniency,” she said. “In this case Miller wanted to stand up and say what he’d done.”

Miller first confessed to a Missouri State Patrol trooper after he and Gilliam were stopped in Sweeton’s car a few days after the brutal attack.

He admitted to the trooper: “We did something we should not have done … We killed someone, an old lady. (Gilliam) hit her with a hammer seven or eight times and I hit her twice. We were on heroin,” according to court papers.

Gilliam and Miller allegedly fled the state after the slaying, court papers said. Police tracked them down by monitoring use of Sweeton’s stolen debit and credit cards.

Gilliam once lived with Sweeton while he was dating her granddaughter. Sweeton last year filed a protection order against Gilliam on behalf of her adult granddaughter, who also struggles with mental health challenges. She accused him of coercing her granddaughter into giving him money to buy drugs. Sweeton told the judge she was afraid of Gilliam.

Sweeton’s family, including her two sisters, were in the courtroom Thursday.

“I don’t think this will ever be resolved for them at least not until both defendants plead guilty or are found guilty,” Albert said. “Even then, I don’t know this will ever be resolved. This is an enormous loss for them. Shirley was really close with her sisters.”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.