LYNNWOOD — A woman was sentenced last week to 20 years in prison for stabbing and killing a man outside a Lynnwood apartment complex.
In November, Cali Anderson, 37, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Snohomish County Superior Court five months after killing Michael Marks, 35.
Around 6:50 a.m. on June 6 of last year, Anderson and Marks were arguing in the parking lot of the Woodland Greens apartment complex at 19801 50th Ave W in Lynnwood, according to charging papers.
A witness reported watching as the argument seemed to end. Anderson and Marks walked away from each other. But Anderson turned back around and rushed toward Marks. Anderson stabbed him in the back with an 8-inch Bowie knife, according to court documents.
Anderson “did not express fear or remorse in the moment and instead taunted Mr. Marks by saying, ‘that’s what you get (expletive),’” deputy prosecutor Joseph Kelstrup wrote in court papers. She reportedly fled.
When officers arrived, they found Marks laying in the parking lot with a stab wound in his back. He was taken to the hospital, where he lost his pulse, but hospital staff revived him, the charges say.
On July 24, weeks after the stabbing, Marks died of his injuries.
In a journal entry, Anderson wrote about the killing, according to the charges.
“June 6,” she reportedly began. “So, this morning I stabbed my first person in the back, literally stabbed, it felt good and of course I was smart and left the scene right away, so I don’t know what happened after that.”
Anderson’s public defender, Rachel Forde, claimed the stabbing was self-defense, arguing in court papers that Marks was “known to be a violent person within the drug using community in Lynnwood and had reputation for stabbing people with screwdrivers.”
Anderson first met Marks, who she knew as “Ghost,” when he tried to force his way into an RV where she was hanging out with a friend, Forde wrote. He demanded drugs and got violent when they refused to provide them. Anderson stopped Marks by punching him in the face.
“You’re going to regret this,” Marks reportedly told Anderson when he left the RV.
So when they met in the Woodland Greens parking lot, Anderson was afraid Marks would exact his revenge, according to the defense.
Forde argued that when Anderson wrote in her journal that “it felt good” to stab Marks, she meant “it felt good to stand up for herself against Ghost’s aggression.”
Anderson has been in and out of prison for the past decade on charges including robbery and burglary. Court papers identify the defendant, who is transgender, as Christopher Brian Anderson.
Under state sentencing guidelines, Anderson faced 17½ years to 23⅓ years in prison for killing Marks. Prosecutors recommended Judge Miguel Duran sentence Anderson to the high end of that range. The defense asked for the low end. Duran chose a prison term in the middle.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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