EVERETT — The young girl brought markers and a holiday coloring book and held her mom’s hand inside the courtroom.
Britney Galindez, 17, was her big sister.
She watched Friday as the man accused of killing Galindez was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Galindez “was loved so much. He had no right to take her from us,” her grandmother Kathleen Henderson said.
Admitted gang member Robert Langendoerfer, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree manslaughter and two counts of intimidating a witness.
Witnesses told police that Galindez was choked, stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and then held below the surface of Lake Ballinger. They said Langendoerfer was upset that Galindez vomited next to him in a car after a night of drinking.
Galindez’s body was found floating in the lake several days later in October 2008.
The allegations, made by a trio of admitted gang members, initially prompted prosecutors to file a first-degree murder charge against Langendoerfer.
Prosecutors on Monday acknowledged problems with the case. They were concerned that one or more of the witnesses could change their stories at trial and Langendoerfer would be acquitted.
Two of the three witnesses had fled to Mexico. One remains there, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Dave Hiltner told the judge.
“We felt it was important to get a plea,” Hiltner said.
He didn’t want to risk the chance that Langendoerfer would be free, the prosecutor said.
Police believe Galindez was a member of a street gang who called themselves Vatos Locos 13.
Under an agreement, Langendoerfer acknowledged that a jury likely would have held him responsible for the killing.
He maintained his innocence Friday. His attorney, public defender Sonja Hardenbrook, told Superior Court Judge Linda Krese that Langendoerfer believed police botched the investigation. Because of that, Galindez’s family will never know what really happened, Hardenbrook said.
“Robert feels the police and the prosecutor do not care that Britney died and he thinks that’s a tragedy,” Hardenbrook said.
His older sister, Sasha Langendoerfer, also criticized the police investigation. She said she doesn’t believe her brother killed Galindez and that other people who were involved in the slaying are not being held accountable.
Court documents indicate Robert Langendoerfer has been building his criminal record since he was a teenager. Up until five years ago, there was no indication of violent crimes. Instead, court records paint a picture of a teenage boy without a stable home who developed a problem with alcohol and marijuana. He had run-ins with police over shoplifting beer, riding in stolen cars and being drunk in public.
In 2004, Langendoerfer was arrested when he and two friends attacked a woman after breaking into her house. They roughed her up and robbed her of more than $1,000. Over the next couple years, he was in and out of jail for probation violations, including failing to get drug treatment and committing other crimes.
His corrections officer in 2006 noted that Langendoerfer was claiming affiliation with gangs, including the Mexican Mafia. The officer called Langendoerfer a risk to the community.
In the months leading up to the slaying, Langendoerfer was active with the gang Florencia 13, police said. The number “13” is tattooed under his right eye.
The 13-year sentence was the top punishment for manslaughter under state sentencing guidelines. Langendoerfer’s prison sentence is similar to what he would have faced if convicted of second-degree murder.
Galindez’s family said it’s not enough.
“We know he killed her but we had no choice (but) to make a plea bargain,” Henderson said. “We have no choice but to settle. There is no justice for us. My granddaughter is gone. He should get a life sentence.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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