Woman who pleaded guilty to shooting, killing apartment owner in 2017 sentenced
SPOKANE, Wash.– A woman who pleaded guilty to murder and assault was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday.
Anne Carpenter shot and killed the owner of the Westview Manor Apartments, Danette Kane, in 2017. She also shot the apartment manager Michael Troy. The shooting left Troy blind.
Carpenter’s plea agreement called for 25 years in prison plus five years for a “firearm enhancement.”
Kane’s family was in the courtroom during sentencing. One family member made a victim impact statement to the judge.
“We will never understand why anyone would kill this innocent, law abiding, kind-loving woman,” said Corey McGreevey, Kane’s brother-in-law. “No words can ever give a righteous description of Danette.”
Troy was also in the courtroom on Friday and said, “For no reason that I have been able to understand, that individual fired two bullets into my skull.”
Following the sentencing, Troy stated how he is working on forgiveness.
“I know about forgiveness. I was taught that, like I said, by the Jesuits and I got mixed feelings, Troy explained. “But that’s one thing that they said that makes sense. What it does is it empowers me to release the pain and the anxiety and the fear.”
A victim advocate and retired judge, Jerry Leveque, also spoke on behalf of the family during sentencing.
“Memories can be souvenirs that you can put in your treasure chest,” he said. “That’s all that’s left of Danette now.”
He then asked to sentence Carpenter to nearly 34 years — the top of the standard range.
The defense argued the reason Carpenter shot Kane and Troy was she is diagnosed with schizophrenia. The defense said Carpenter believes, and also believed at the time, an ex-boyfriend was trying to kill her.
“She’s an individual that suffers from something that’s beyond her control,” said Jeremy Schmidt, Carpenter’s attorney. “This is a tragedy. This is a tragedy for everyone.”
When it came down to sentencing, Judge Maryann Moreno spoke to everyone involved.
“You are what I strive to be sitting up here on the bench. I’m very sorry this happened to you,” Moreno said to Troy.
She added that she is really tired of gun violence and it has to stop.
Carpenter did not speak at the sentencing.
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