Carnation murderer sentenced to life in prison without parole

Joseph McEnroe, who killed six members of his girlfriend's family in a 2007 Christmas Eve shooting spree in Carnation, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday morning.

Quick Facts:

• Wednesday's hearing was McEnroe's formal sentencing
• Carnation killings were Dec. 24, 2007
• Eight jurors wanted death; four wanted life in prison.
• McEnroe sentenced to life without parole because jurors couldn't agree
• Six victims were members of his girlfriend Michele Anderson's family
• Michele Anderson to face trial next year

The jury in McEnroe's aggravated first-degree murder case, which took nearly eight years to complete, could not agree on the death penalty. As a result, they decided on life in prison for McEnroe on May 13.

Wednesday's hearing was McEnroe's formal sentencing.

KIRO 7 reporter Alison Grande was in the courtroom and spoke to family members. Watch her live report on KIRO 7 Eyewitness News starting at 5 p.m.

During McEnroe's sentencing, six white carnations were placed on the front bench to represent the six victims.

When it was time for relatives of the victims to speak, McEnroe stared at the table in front of him or closed his eyes.

"You ruined my heart," Pamela Mantle told McEnroe. He murdered her daughter, Erica Anderson and grandchildren Olivia, 5, and Nathan, 3.

"There was no excuse for what you did to Erica," Mantle said. "She begged for her life and you shot her six times. She was a little bitty girl and you shot my little granddaughter twice. You shot Nathan. You wiped everybody out and I'm really sad."

Mary Victoria Anderson was supposed to be at the gathering on Christmas Eve 2007, she was sick so she stayed home.

"I do know he was going to kill me and my kids as well and I never did anything to him, none of us did," Anderson told the court.

The six victims in the Carnation killing were Wayne and Judy Anderson, Scott and Erica Anderson, and their two young children, 5-year-old Olivia and 3-year-old Nathan. Those are all relatives of Michele Anderson, McEnroe's girlfriend.

The defense claimed Joseph McEnroe was under the control of his girlfriend when he killed her family.

"He was not some entranced automaton when he committed these murders," said Tony Mantle whose daughter and grandchildren were killed. "He was rocking and rolling -- he did this out of sport and out of greed."

In an unusual move, presiding juror Angela Morello-Williams apologized to the Mantle family, and said death penalty politics got in the way of justice.

"Your justice was not done in the fair and right way that justice sets out to do," she said.

When McEnroe had a chance to speak, he sat with his head down and said nothing.

He never looked at those addressing him, only looking up when addressed by King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell.

"The fact that two-thirds of the jurors concluded that execution was the appropriate punishment should be a sobering thought that stays with you for the rest of your life," Ramsdell told McEnroe.

The costs for the prosecutor's office in the cases against McEnroe and Michele Anderson totaled $1,231,000 through April. They began work on the case shortly after the victims were found on Dec. 26, 2007.

That total does not include costs for King County Sheriff's investigators or the state crime lab.
The cost to defend Joseph McEnroe reached 4.4 million in March.

Jury selection for Michele Anderson's murder trial starts in September. Her trial begins in January of 2016.

VIDEO: McEnroe: 'If you want to kill me, go ahead >> kiro.tv/GoAhead
PHOTOS: Anderson family photos, victims >> kiro.tv/AndersonFamilyPhotos
PHOTOS: Carnation murder investigation images >> kiro.tv/CarnationRecreation

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