By Scott North
Herald Writer
Daniel Kristopher Larson is an unusual man.
He spent his youth being treated for violent outbursts, fire setting and delusional fantasies involving robots and monsters.
Before he was out of his teens, he’d already been convicted of child molestation of a 5-year-old boy. As an adult, he’s been convicted of harassment, indecent liberties and assault.
On Tuesday, Larson was back in court, pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the September 2000 killing of Anastasia King, 20, a mail-order bride.
As part of the plea, Larson agreed to testify against Indle Gifford King, Jr., 40, the slain woman’s husband and his former landlord. Indle King is charged with first-degree murder in his wife’s death.
In court papers, Larson claimed he killed the young woman because he was "under threats of death and coercion" by Indle King. He has admitted strangling Anastasia King with a necktie, and alleged that he did so while her 270-pound husband held her down.
Larson has been telling that story since late December, when he led detectives to Anastasia King’s shallow grave north of Marysville.
Indle King flatly denies killing his wife.
In court papers filed Monday, defense attorneys David Allen and Cassandra Stamm of Seattle say evidence shows Larson killed Anastasia King because she wanted him to move out of the home she shared with her husband.
"Although Larson has subsequently tried to lay the blame for his acts on Indle King Jr., his allegations in this regard are completely incredible, internally inconsistent, and contradicted by existing independent evidence," the attorneys said.
The defense team also has made it clear that it plans to challenge how police and prosecutors investigated the case. Key motions are scheduled for later this month.
Larson’s guilty plea "was not unexpected and does not change our strategy at all," Allen said.
Larson had been charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors on Tuesday agreed to allow him to plead guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree murder. Under state sentencing guidelines, he faces anywhere from slightly more than 14 1/2 years to nearly 23 years in prison. He also faces up to 10 years behind bars after being convicted of indecent liberties for trying to force a 16-year-old girl in November to have sex in a restroom at the Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood.
Snohomish County prosecutors are willing to recommend that Larson serve his prison sentences for the murder and indecent liberties concurrently, but they plan to withhold their sentencing recommendation until after Larson testifies at Indle King’s trial, now scheduled for January, said Jim Townsend, the county’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor.
Townsend said it would be a mistake to assume that the trial will be little more than a credibility contest between Larson and Indle King, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to perjury for lying in divorce papers he filed against his wife.
"The case against Indle King will be based on the totality of the circumstances," Townsend said. "Included in that will be Mr. King’s own statements to police, physical evidence and the testimony of Daniel Larson."
Anastasia King, a University of Washington student, dropped from sight in late September 2000 after returning from a visit to her parents’ home in her native Kyrgyzstan. Indle King became a suspect after he allegedly lied to police about traveling with his wife back to Seattle from the former Soviet Union.
Larson’s guilty plea came after months of negotiations by his attorneys, public defenders Susan Gaer and John Stellwagen.
Larson maintained from the outset that he killed Anastasia King because Indle King threatened his life, but that is not a defense to murder, Gaer said.
"He always felt that he was coerced, and this was not his act," she said.
Anastasia King’s parents were in the courtroom Tuesday, monitoring the proceedings with the assistance of deputy prosecutor Charlie Blackman, who is fluent in Russian. They left the courtroom without speaking with reporters.
The couple were brought to the United States by prosecutors, who have listed them as witnesses. They are now living in south Snohomish County and have applied for citizenship in the United States so they can be near their daughter’s gave.
Court papers show Anastasia King’s parents have told authorities that the young woman’s final visit home was marred by Indle King pursuing her around her hometown, accusing her of infidelity and showing anger over the disintegration of their marriage.
Among other things, Indle King allegedly gave his in-laws a list detailing his displeasure with his wife, including her reluctance to prepare meals, clean their home and participate in sexual activity.
Tuesday’s hearing was delayed about an hour after Larson objected to security measures imposed by corrections officers, Gaer said. During the hearing, he repeatedly whispered complaints to his lawyers.
Larson has frequently engaged in unusual behavior during the past year. Early on in the case he tried to have Gaer removed from the case, claiming religious convictions forbid him from taking direction from a woman. A judge ruled that was not sufficient legal grounds to dismiss an experienced trial attorney.
Larson then spent about a month acting as his own attorney in the indecent liberties case before asking a judge to reappoint his lawyer.
Shortly after being charged with Anastasia King’s murder, Larson shaved his head and eyebrows. He has since regrown his hair.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431
or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.
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