EVERETT — A Marysville man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for murdering another man for his supply of prescription painkillers.
Family members of the victim, Steven Steadman, 58, told prosecutors they have questions about his death that may never be answered. They don’t know if he saw the gun, or if he was afraid before he was shot by his killer, Michael Stowell.
Steadman’s family wanted those answers more than they wanted a lengthy sentence, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Bob Langbehn said in court.
Langbehn had recommended the 25-year sentence, as did Stowell’s public defender. Because Stowell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a firearm, he won’t be able to shed time for good behavior.
“Every day of that 25 years is time that is appropriate and it’s earned,” Langbehn said during the hearing in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Stowell, 31, admitted to killing Steadman because the older man was supplying him with painkillers, and Stowell needed more than he could buy.
Stowell had been prescribed painkillers at some point and later became addicted, said his public defender, Gabriel Rothstein. Stowell had no prior felonies or history of violence. He’d always kept a job since high school.
The addiction made Stowell often desperate for pills, and his greed got the best of him, Rothstein said.
“I take responsibility for my actions,” Stowell told the court. “I’m sorry for the pain and suffering I caused.”
Stowell also agreed to pay more than $4,600 in restitution.
Before Judge Michael Downes decided the sentence, Steadman’s daughter told Stowell she has forgiven him and she prays for his 7-year-old son.
“We’ll be okay without our dad,” she told the court. “As he robbed us, he robbed his own son.”
The 25-year sentence was a just resolution, Downes said.
Steadman’s loved ones still wake up every day and miss him, the judge told Stowell.
“This is a waste in more ways than are easily calculated,” he said. “It was a waste of the victim’s life and a waste of yours.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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