An Everett man suffered through an abusive childhood, but those mental scars are no excuse for killing a woman and keeping her body in his closet, a judge said Monday.
Some had a worse childhood than Sean Thomas Hamill and “they didn’t go out and kill people,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Gerald Knight said.
Hamill, 25, of Everett took Angela Hay, 42, to his apartment in late July, argued with her, struck her three times in the head with a construction framing hammer and then slit her throat.
Then he kept the body in his closet for three weeks until the stench became overwhelming, and he asked a neighbor to help him put the body in a garbage bag and move it to a dumpster near his apartment.
Knight sentenced Hamill to a little more than 18 years in prison. Hamill pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in Hay’s death.
Hay, who had some hard times herself, had a life until she met Hamill.
“It may not have been a great life, but it’s a life,” Knight said. To deposit her remains in a garbage bag and a dumpster “is inexcusable.”
Several of her relatives spoke about Hay, including her sister, Judy Crown.
“No one should have to die like she did,” Crown said.
Family members said nobody was prepared for how Hay died, even though her life took some “wrong turns,” according to brother Greg Hay. “She did not deserve this.”
Deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen asked the judge to impose an 18-year sentence, the middle of the sentencing range for Hamill and the crime. Hamill should get some credit for sparing the family an emotional trial, Larsen told the judge.
Public defender Anne Harper said her client is aware of the loss he caused, but there are various reasons why Hamill should get less time. She asked the judge for a sentence of a little more than 15 years.
Hamill was willing to take responsibility for the crime from the outset, Harper said. In addition, there’s reason to believe he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after he was abused as a child.
What’s more, Hamill has a serious drug and alcohol problem and he was “very intoxicated” when he killed Hay, she said.
He wants to get therapy while in prison, because “he wants to make sure this never happens again,” Harper said.
Knight recommended therapy for Hamill either while in prison or when he is under state supervision after he gets out.
No sentence he imposes would define Angela Hay’s life, Knight said. “All life should be cherished.”
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