Hillyard man sentenced to 19 years for girlfriend’s murder
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Hillyard man who admitted he murdered his girlfriend was sentenced to just under 20 years in prison on Wednesday afternoon.
Joshua Forrester pleaded guilty to murdering 24-year-old Alianna Johnson the day after Christmas.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner said Johnson died from gunshot wounds and ruled her death a homicide.
Shortly after neighbors heard gunshots, Forrester was found walking near the scene, covered in blood.
During questioning, Forrester told police “There is no excuse. I can’t explain it.” He said he and Johnson had been having difficulties in their relationship and he had recently quit his job.
Forrester said he took his gun out of a safe and loaded it after an argument with Johnson. He then put it in a kitchen drawer and said he wasn’t able to “do it” at that time.
A few hours later, he got up once again and grabbed the gun. He said he stood over the victim while she slept and started shooting her.
When asked why he did it, Forrester said something took over him and he didn’t know why.
Court records showed he later said he shot her “because I couldn’t let her go.”
Forrester will serve 231.5 months in prison. His sentence comes as part of a plea deal.
RELATED: Hillyard man accused of killing girlfriend: ‘I couldn’t let her go’
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
