Woman gets five years in prison for Lynnwood stabbing

Published 1:30 am Thursday, October 13, 2016

EVERETT — A Spokane mother was suffering a mental health crisis when she stabbed an apartment maintenance worker from behind, severely injuring the man.

That was the conclusion reached by a Snohomish County Superior Court judge who sentenced the woman Tuesday to five years in prison. That is two years below the minimum term under the state’s sentencing guidelines.

Lisa Williams faced up to a decade behind bars for the July 9, 2015, attack.

Judge Millie Judge sided with Williams’ public defender, who argued that his client was in the throes of a psychotic break. Williams, 42, had no previous criminal history and the attack on a stranger was unprovoked.

“There is no serious question that profound mental health issues underpin this crime, and it is not a stretch to say that Ms. Williams’ capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct, or to conform her conduct to the requirements of the law, was significantly impaired by her psychotic symptoms …,” defense attorney Rob O’Neal wrote in court papers.

He urged the judge to depart from the standard range, asking her to distinguish between a crime motivated by unrecognized mental illness versus “calculated and cold-blooded violence for a criminal purpose.”

The attack happened outside the Pinewood Square Apartments in Lynnwood. The maintenance man was retrieving some tools when he was stabbed in the back. The knife blade collapsed a lung.

Williams was stopped from stabbing the man a second time when passersby pinned her to the ground. One man held her down while another applied pressure to the victim’s wound. A third man kept his handgun trained on Williams.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko recommended a seven-year sentence.

The victim, 52, spent 10 days at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The man wrote the judge that he wouldn’t attend Tuesday’s hearing because he was too afraid to see Williams. He continues to suffer physical pain. He also is kept awake by nightmares.

“Because I didn’t get a proper education, I would not be able to find a different job that requires less labor. I’m stuck doing physical work and I’m in constant fear of being fired because I can’t perform at the same pace as I used to,” he wrote.

Williams apologized Tuesday.

“The person that day is different then the person standing here today,” she said. “I’m really sorry for what I did.”

Williams had been staying with her sister at Pinewood after a divorce. She became despondent and fixated on becoming homeless, court papers said.

While in jail she plucked the hair off her head. She was sent to Western State Hospital, where she was prescribed anti-psychotic medications. Her condition significantly improved.

O’Neal also told Judge that his client likely would be eligible for a state Department of Corrections program serving mentally ill offenders in the months leading up to their release from prison. The offenders receive mental health treatment and other services while in prison. Once released, the offenders are provided social services for up to five years, O’Neal wrote.

Judge said she hoped Williams qualified for the program as it was her “best chance back to her children and the community.”

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