Phiengchai Sisouvanh Synhavong won't be put to death for the gruesome slaying of a pregnant Pasco woman, but her life will end in prison.
Benton County Judge Robert Swisher on Wednesday gave the Kennewick woman the only sentence he could after a jury convicted her last month of aggravated first-degree murder.
"There's no joy in this case, no joy in the sentence," Swisher said. "It is in effect a death sentence. You will die in prison."
Sisouvanh Synhavong, 25, didn't say anything during the brief hearing before Swisher sentenced her to life in prison without parole for the June 2008 death of Araceli Camacho Gomez.
It was the only sentence Swisher could give because Prosecutor Andy Miller previously had declined to seek the death penalty.
Miller's decision was based on a number of factors, including Sisouvanh Synhavong's lack of criminal history, that there was a single victim and the desire of the victim's family.
Sisouvanh Synhavong's defense attorneys, Michael Iaria and Dan Arnold, also said little during the hearing because the court had no discretion to give a more lenient sentence.
Read the complete story at theolympian.com
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