A state Court of Appeals petition filed by the killer of a mail-order bride delayed the arraignment of Daniel Kristopher Larson for the third time on Tuesday.
Larson, 25, pleaded guilty in 2002 to second-degree murder in the 2000 strangulation death of Anastasia King, but his violation of a plea agreement led to a new first-degree murder charge being filed against him in late October.
On Nov. 10, Larson protested when Bill Jaquette, head of the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, showed up to represent him. His arraignment was delayed twice while the search went on for a private attorney to represent him.
On Tuesday, Jaquette returned as Larson’s lawyer, and the attorney asked for another delay of the arraignment until he could find out more about the pending Court of Appeals action.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Erick Lucas set the arraignment for Monday.
What’s holding things up is the very thing that got Larson in trouble with prosecutors and led to the filing of the new charges. He violated his plea agreement by asking the court to set his plea aside. If the court agreed, he would get a new trial.
That petition is still pending in the Court of Appeals.
As it stands, he will be getting a new trial with a more severe charge and the possibility of a much longer prison term than the 20 years he received in 2002.
Deputy prosecutor Kathy Webber asked the Court of Appeals to delay any decision on Larson’s petition until after a new trial. If he’s found guilty, the petition would be moot, she argued.
King, 20, came to the United States from her homeland in Kyrgyzstan to marry Indle King Jr. of Mountlake Terrace. Indle King was convicted of first-degree murder in her slaying and received a 29-year prison term.
Larson was sentenced to a 20-year prison term for his part in her death. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and kept part of his plea-bargain agreement with prosecutors when he testified against Indle King.
While acting on Indle King’s orders, Larson testified that he strangled Anastasia King with a necktie while Indle King held her down by sitting on her.
When Larson filed his petition to withdraw his guilty plea, his plea deal was rescinded. In August, the state Court of Appeals agreed with prosecutors and a local judge that the door is now wide open to prosecute Larson for first-degree murder.
In addition, Larson’s second-degree murder conviction will stand no matter what the outcome of a new trial, the appeals court said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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