Man accused in killing spree pleads guilty to murdering parents
EVERETT, Wash. -- A man charged in a killing spree that left four people dead across the West Coast has pleaded guilty to murdering his father and stepmother.
David "Joey" Pedersen pleaded guilty to the killings in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to not seek the death penalty.
He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison for the murders in Everett of David "Red" Pedersen, 56, and his wife Leslie, 69.
"These pleas ensure that today's defendant, Mr. Pedersen's son, will never walk free again," Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe said in a written statement.
Roe said he believed the death penalty would have been appropriate, but was concerned that a jury may not be able to reach a unanimous conclusion.
He said the investigation into the killings revealed that years ago the elder Pederson engaged in multiple acts of child sexual abuse, victimizing his own children, and others.
Roe said David Pedersen repeatedly confessed to killing his father and cited some of the abuse as a motive.
"Whether that was his true, sole or only motivation is less certain, but what is certain is that any jury considering his fate would first hear hours, days, or perhaps weeks of testimony on the subject, some of it from the actual victims of the abuse," Roe said.
David Pederson's girlfriend, Holly Grigsby, has also been charged in the Everett murders. Roe said a decision about whether to seek the death penalty in her case is pending.
The two defendants, who have white supremacist ties, are also accused of killing 19-year-old Cody Myers in Western Oregon because his name sounded Jewish and 53-year-old Reginald Clark near Eureka, Calif., because he was black.
Grigsby and Pedersen were arrested outside Yuba City, Calif., when a police officer spotted them in Myers' car. Authorities had been tracking them by use of stolen credit cards and had warned police in several states to be on the lookout for them.
Grigsby told police she and her boyfriend were heading to Sacramento, Calif., to "kill more Jews," according to court documents.
During a jailhouse interview with the California newspaper the Appeal-Democrat, David Joey Pedersen said he took "full responsibility."
He said he killed his father because he had molested his daughter - David Joey Pedersen's older sister - and an adopted cousin when they were young. He added he and Grigsby killed Leslie Pedersen because she knew about the molestation, but still supported him. He told the paper that his mother, with whom he remained close, informed him of the abuse about four years ago while he was prison. He soon resolved to kill his father, he said.
"I'm not glad he's dead. I don't get joy from it, but I do get satisfaction," he said in the interview. "He didn't deserve to be walking around anymore."
Grigsby told investigators David Joey Pedersen fatally shot his father while the older man was driving. The two then returned to the Everett, Wash. home where she killed Leslie Pedersen with two knives.
The plea agreement with prosecutors in Snohomish County was for only the murders of David Joey Pedersen's father and stepmother.
He and Grigsby may still face murder prosecutions in Oregon and California.
David "Joey" Pedersen pleaded guilty to the killings in exchange for prosecutors agreeing to not seek the death penalty.
He is expected to be sentenced to life in prison for the murders in Everett of David "Red" Pedersen, 56, and his wife Leslie, 69.
"These pleas ensure that today's defendant, Mr. Pedersen's son, will never walk free again," Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe said in a written statement.
Roe said he believed the death penalty would have been appropriate, but was concerned that a jury may not be able to reach a unanimous conclusion.
He said the investigation into the killings revealed that years ago the elder Pederson engaged in multiple acts of child sexual abuse, victimizing his own children, and others.
Roe said David Pedersen repeatedly confessed to killing his father and cited some of the abuse as a motive.
"Whether that was his true, sole or only motivation is less certain, but what is certain is that any jury considering his fate would first hear hours, days, or perhaps weeks of testimony on the subject, some of it from the actual victims of the abuse," Roe said.
David Pederson's girlfriend, Holly Grigsby, has also been charged in the Everett murders. Roe said a decision about whether to seek the death penalty in her case is pending.
The two defendants, who have white supremacist ties, are also accused of killing 19-year-old Cody Myers in Western Oregon because his name sounded Jewish and 53-year-old Reginald Clark near Eureka, Calif., because he was black.
Grigsby and Pedersen were arrested outside Yuba City, Calif., when a police officer spotted them in Myers' car. Authorities had been tracking them by use of stolen credit cards and had warned police in several states to be on the lookout for them.
Grigsby told police she and her boyfriend were heading to Sacramento, Calif., to "kill more Jews," according to court documents.
During a jailhouse interview with the California newspaper the Appeal-Democrat, David Joey Pedersen said he took "full responsibility."
He said he killed his father because he had molested his daughter - David Joey Pedersen's older sister - and an adopted cousin when they were young. He added he and Grigsby killed Leslie Pedersen because she knew about the molestation, but still supported him. He told the paper that his mother, with whom he remained close, informed him of the abuse about four years ago while he was prison. He soon resolved to kill his father, he said.
"I'm not glad he's dead. I don't get joy from it, but I do get satisfaction," he said in the interview. "He didn't deserve to be walking around anymore."
Grigsby told investigators David Joey Pedersen fatally shot his father while the older man was driving. The two then returned to the Everett, Wash. home where she killed Leslie Pedersen with two knives.
The plea agreement with prosecutors in Snohomish County was for only the murders of David Joey Pedersen's father and stepmother.
He and Grigsby may still face murder prosecutions in Oregon and California.
