EVERETT – A Marysville man has been acquitted this afternoon of murdering his daughter.
A Snohomish County jury instead convicted Richard Peters of first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of 6-year-old Stormy Peters.
Peters shot and killed his daughter Nov. 16, 2008. He told investigators he had been removing some ammunition from a .45-caliber Colt when the gun went off and a bullet hit Stormy in the head.
Prosecutors first charged Peters with manslaughter. They alleged that Peters knew the risk of handling firearms. He disregarded the dangers when he got drunk, asked Stormy to fetch his gun and handled the weapon in her presence, along with two other children, ages 3 and 8. His reckless actions caused the little girl’s death, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern alleged.
Stern in August added a second-degree murder charge. He alleged that homicide detectives uncovered new evidence that proved that Peters was pointing the gun at Stormy when he pulled the trigger.
Defense attorney Karen Halverson told jurors there wasn’t any evidence to support the prosecutor’s theory. She said the shooting was a tragic accident.
Jurors spent about three hours deliberating this afternoon.
Peters faces more than 13 years behind bars. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
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