B.C. man sentenced to 55 years for Mason County slaying

SHELTON — A 29-year-old Abbotsford, British Columbia, man who pleaded guilty to killing his 5-year-old stepdaughter has been sentenced in Shelton to 55 years in prison.

KOMO News reported the sentence handed down Friday to Peter James Wilson was double the standard term for the crime. Mason County Prosecutor Gary Burleson asked for the longer term because of exceptional circumstances.

Wilson’s family was vacationing in June at a house near Lake Cushman when he and his wife argued over disciplining her daughter, Clare Louise Shelswell. He said he would “take care of it” and slit her throat.

He pleaded guilty Sept. 13 to the murder charge.

KIRO-TV reports he apologized at his sentencing and said his life is over.

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