They called themselves the “J Crew.”
Jenson Hankins, Josh Goldman and John Jasmer liked girls, partying and playing football at Roosevelt High School in Seattle.
The three appeared to be fast friends. But in August 2003, they left Seattle and headed to a wooded area on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Only two emerged.
On Friday, what happened in the woods more than a year ago became the focus of a Snohomish County Superior Court murder trial.
Jurors were told that Jasmer, 16, was beaten and stabbed to death. Goldman, now 18, is awaiting sentencing for his role in the killing. He’ll soon testify against Hankins, 17, who is now on trial as an adult, charged with first-degree murder.
If convicted, Hankins can expect to spend a minimum of 22 years in prison.
Lawyers on both sides agreed on this much:
Hankins has admitted hitting Jasmer on the head with a hammer, initiating the attack that ended in the teen’s death. He also acknowledged spending weeks talking with Goldman about the killing.
An autopsy found that Jasmer died from blows to his head and from 29 stab wounds. Goldman admitted bringing the knife.
Deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler said the violence was an act of revenge because Hankins and Goldman suspected Jasmer had sexually assaulted Hankins’ girlfriend.
Stemler said the two dug a grave on the reservation, then lured Jasmer to the site with promises that they had found a source of cheap marijuana in the woods.
They used a pay telephone instead of their own phones to call Jasmer because they didn’t want to create a record of the call, the prosecutor said.
“They knew John wouldn’t be coming back with them that night,” Stemler said.
Hankins’ lawyer, Rachel Levy, said her client didn’t intend Jasmer’s death. Hankins was caught up in a fantasy of tough-guy posturing and swirling emotions over allegations that Jasmer had sexually attacked his girlfriend, she said. To make matters worse, Hankins was living in a fog of regular marijuana abuse.
There was talk of beating, shooting or stabbing Jasmer, and even an unsuccessful attempt to steal some chloroform from the University of Washington, Levy said. But it wasn’t ever intended to become a reality.
“The plans that these boys made were drama,” Levy said.
A close examination of the evidence won’t support the prosecution’s claim that the killing was premeditated, the lawyer said. Premeditation is an essential element of first-degree murder.
Levy has already told the court she wants jurors to be allowed to consider lesser forms of homicide. The strategy could save Hankins years in prison if jurors find he is criminally responsible for the death but not guilty of first-degree murder.
Goldman in August pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and faces a minimum 22 years behind bars.
Jasmer’s mother, Donna, was the first witness to testify. She said her youngest son had a job and was looking forward to his junior year in high school. Her son’s circle of friends included Hankins, who visited her home often and even went with her son to view a Freddy Krueger slasher film two days before the killing, Donna Jasmer said.
She testified that she considered Hankins “one of my boys.”
If “anything would have happened to him, I would have been there, and I still would,” Donna Jasmer said.
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