Man gets maximum sentence for his 2nd murder conviction

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 4, 2026

EVERETT — A Snohomish County man with a history of murder and child sex crimes received no leniency during a sentencing hearing for his latest conviction on Thursday afternoon.

Mark Downey, 58, will spend more than 25 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon for killing 37-year-old Katie McQueen near Lake Stevens in 2024.

Investigators said Downey cut the woman’s throat and hid her naked body in bushes on a rural property following a failed sexual encounter in August 2024, according to court records. Downey then fled to Mexico, charging documents said.

“I cannot bring Katie McQueen back to life, Mr. Downey you took away her future,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent said before handing down a maximum sentence of 26-and-a-half years. “While I can’t bring her back to life, at least today I can give her some justice and maybe those who love her can find some peace.”

Downey previously spent 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of a 35-year-old Bellingham woman in 2005, court records said. He is also a registered sex offender after pleading guilty to third-degree assault of a child with sexual motivation for molesting a young girl in Mountlake Terrace in 2021, according to The Daily Herald’s past reporting.

“The aggression he displays states he has a deep rooted anger and hate against women which is getting worse and more evil each time he executes his victims,” Laurie McQueen, the victim’s mother, wrote in a statement shared by a victim advocate during sentencing. “He is always on the hunt, looking for prey. I don’t want Mark ever to be eligible for parole. Women are not safe with him ‘free’ in this society.”

Katie McQueen’s body was found by a neighbor doing yardwork in the 11800 block of 84th Street NE, north of Lake Stevens on Aug. 20, 2024, according to court records. The medical examiner could not determine a cause of death because maggots and weather exposure had so badly decomposed the remains.

Detectives turned over evidence to state forensic investigators who matched DNA found on the woman’s wrist to Downey using the federal Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), court records said.

Deputies learned Downey was already in custody in Arizona for failing to register as a sex offender and had him extradited back to Snohomish County in November 2024, according to court documents.

Downey told detectives several different accounts of what happened, including claiming self-defense, before he admitted to killing McQueen, court records said.

Downey said the two had agreed to have sex, but he was unable to perform, according to court documents. When the victim began insulting him and laughing at him, Downey said he pulled out a spring-loaded knife and stabbed her in the throat, records said.

“The defendant admitted that he felt as if she was attacking his manhood and hurt his feelings,” charging documents said.

Downey said he rolled McQueen’s body into the bushes and threw her belongings in a grocery store trash bin before taking off for Mexico, according to court records.

“This man has caused my family and others unendurable pain and suffering, and he deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life,” Teresa McQueen, Katie McQueen’s step-mother, told the court through Zoom. “Knowing that this man would no longer be able to hurt another person and put others in this position that we are currently living is just the beginning of our healing journey.”

A jury found Downey guilty of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon on April 8, following an 11-day trial.

Downey’s conviction came with a standard sentencing range of 16 to 24-and-a-half years, with a mandatory additional two years because the crime was committed with a deadly weapon.

In a nearly 100-page sentencing memorandum filed before Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors asked the judge for the longest possible sentence of 26-and-a-half years in prison.

“Mr. Downey has shown that he is an extreme danger to this community,” Snohomish County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elise Deschenes told the judge. “He’s not learning from being in custody. He gets out and quickly — within a year or even less than five months — does it again in killing a woman that we are here today. I think all of these things together indicate that the community is best served by him being out of society.”

Defense attorneys representing Downey requested a minimum sentence. Downey has maintained his innocence saying his previous confession was false and should not have been accepted, court documents said.

“Mr. Downey is not attempting to evade the verdict or relitigate the trial,” the defense wrote in court documents. “Rather, he stands before the Court in the difficult position of facing a lengthy prison sentence for a crime he continues to assert that he did not commit.”

In addition to the murder sentencing, Downey also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted failure to register as a sex offender for fleeing out of state after the crime.

“I don’t think the state of Washington should spend a dime on this man’s sexual deviancy treatment whatsoever,” Okrent said after handing down the sentence. “It’s a waste of time that could be better served on someone who might actually use it.”

Ian Davis-Leonard: 425-339-3097; ian.davis-leonard@heraldnet.com