Arlington man sentenced to 20⅓ years for fatal stabbing of wife

EVERETT — The sentencing for the killer of Madison King was so packed Monday afternoon that family and friends had to stand in the back of the courtroom gallery.

Loved ones wept and held each other. Four of them addressed the judge, asking for the most stern sentence possible.

“Homero Osuna-Gonzalez stabbed my sister more than 50 times,” said Mikayla King, one of King’s sisters, reading from a letter. “Yet at maximum he will serve less than half of that (many years) in prison.”

Under state guidelines, Osuna-Gonzalez faced a range of 12¼ to 20⅓ years behind bars for second-degree murder.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis ordered the defendant to serve a sentence at the high end of that range.

“Madison King is a bright light,” Ellis said. “She is a person whose spirit has a warm glow. She comforted many. She lighted the way for others, and she drew others to her. I did not know her, but I know these things about her because of the words that have been spoken in the courtroom here today.”

Osuna-Gonzalez, 26, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last year for the fatal stabbing of Madison King, 23. The married couple lived west of Smokey Point.

This week, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. At his sentencing, Osuna-Gonzalez cried as he read a letter to apologize for what he did.

“I can’t imagine what you are going through,” he told her family. “I wish I could take the pain away, because I don’t like to see grief, especially grief I have caused. I’m sorry for taking away your daughter from you.”

In the hours before she was killed on June 10, 2021, Madison King wrote messages to a coworker about her fear of her husband and their unhealthy relationship.

“I’m numb,” she texted the coworker, according to court papers. “He tried to tell me today if I ended things he’d kill himself.”

Osuna-Gonzalez reportedly told detectives he was arguing with his wife that day at their home in the 400 block of 200th Street NW.

She had gone into their bedroom to get space from him. Osuna-Gonzalez went into the kitchen and picked up a knife to prepare his lunch, prosecutors wrote. Madison King came out of the bedroom.

They began arguing again. Osuna-Gonzalez reported he “lost control,” and pointed a knife at his wife. He followed her into their bedroom and attacked her.

An autopsy confirmed he stabbed her dozens of times.

The day after the killing, Osuna-Gonzalez reportedly shaved his head to alter his appearance. He allegedly washed his bloodstained clothes and showered while wearing disposable gloves. He also researched if the Canadian border was open, deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock wrote in court papers.

Then he got in Madison King’s car and skipped town. He took her phone and allegedly responded to text messages she had received by pretending to be her.

Osuna-Gonzalez drove to Kirkland, where he worked. He reportedly told police he considered throwing himself off a bridge. But when he got to work, he decided instead to approach his co-workers.

He told them what happened, the charges say. They called the police around 10:30 a.m. Kirkland officers soon arrived and arrested Osuna-Gonzalez.

In court this week, the deputy prosecutor and defense attorney Chuan-Yi Su presented the judge with an agreed sentencing recommendation of 20⅓ years in prison. The judge heeded their request.

Osuna-Gonzalez had no prior felony record.

At the time of her death, King was pursuing a second degree in Spanish from Western Washington University. She hoped to use her combined passions for biology and language to serve Spanish-speaking families in the medical system, her family said in court.

“There are many things my sister will never get the chance to do,” King’s sister said in court. “She will never have children or attend my wedding. She will never … know love that isn’t deeply rooted in selfishness and control.”

Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; ellen.dennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.

Help is available

Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County provides free and confidential services, including an emergency shelter, legal advocacy, support groups and domestic violence education. For help, call the 24-hour support line: 425-25-ABUSE (425-252-2873).