A man who strangled a Mountlake Terrace woman with a necktie five years ago will be back in court next month facing more serious charges – and the possibility of a much longer prison term than the 20-year sentence he received in 2002.
A Snohomish County Superior Court judge Friday ordered the removal of Daniel Kristopher Larson, 25, from a Minnesota corrections facility so he can arrive in time for a Nov. 10 arraignment in Everett.
Coleen St. Clair, deputy prosecutor, said she will file first-degree murder charges against Larson next week in the September 2000 killing of mail-order bride Anastasia King, 20.
Larson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against Indle King Jr., the dead woman’s husband. As part of the plea agreement, Larson also agreed not to appeal his own conviction or sentence.
Prosecutors maintained that he broke the agreement when he filed jailhouse papers seeking to withdraw the guilty plea, freeing them to file the more serious charges that could result in a decade or more of additional time behind bars if he’s convicted.
King, who was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, was sentenced to nearly 29 years in prison. With a criminal history for sex crimes and assault, Larson could be sentenced to even more time, St. Clair said.
Larson was being held out of state because of overcrowding in Washington state’s prison system, state Department of Corrections spokesman Veltry Johnson said. He said nearly 600 Washington prisoners are being held in Minnesota and Arizona jails under contracts.
Before the case came back to court, both prosecutors and a public defender warned Larson that he would be putting himself in hot water by protesting the plea agreement. Larson insisted he should have received a 14-year sentence instead of 20, and he pursued his appeal.
In 2003, a Snohomish County judge ruled that Larson had violated the plea agreement and prosecutors could file more serious charges without invalidating the second-degree murder conviction. That means Larson’s second-degree murder conviction and sentence will stand no matter what happens in the future.
Larson challenged that ruling, saying that was double jeopardy.
In August, the state Court of Appeals turned Larson down and agreed with the prosecutors, clearing the way for the new charges.
The King case became an example for state and federal legislation protecting foreign-born brides being courted by U.S. men through for-profit marriage brokers.
Larson admitted using a necktie to strangle Anastasia King while his landlord, Indle King, sat on her in the garage of their Mountlake Terrace home.
Larson later led police to the grave near Marysville where the woman was buried.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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