By Pat Jenkins
The Dispatch
A Spanaway man who was convicted of murder in the death of an older man in his care claimed he didn't get a fair trial.
Wrong.
Last week, the state Court of Appeals upheld the second-degree felony murder conviction of Larry John Lee, rejecting his claim that he was treated unfairly by court officials and his own lawyer during his trial last year.
In the first case of its kind in Washington, Lee, 53, was convicted of causing the death of Phillip Carter, 59.
Carter, who was developmentally disabled, died on May 15, 2015, several hours after an ambulance took Carter him to a hospital after Lee reported he was unresponsive. Hospital personnel treated Carter for several large, deep pressure wounds and told police it was the worst case of neglect they had ever seen, according to Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindqust.
Carter had developed a serious infection from the wounds, which Lee had noticed a week earlier and packed with paper towels, Lindquist said, adding doctors told authorities that Carter could have survived if he had received treatment earlier.
Carter lived at Lee’s the last few years before his death. Lee’s ex-wife was a nurse and they ran a licensed homecare business. When she left, Lee failed to obtain a new license but kept Carter as a patient and continued to receive $850 per month in payment for the service, according to authorities.
Lee was found guilty by a Pierce County Superior Court jury in June 2016 and was sentenced by Judge Michael Schwartz to nine year and four months in prison.
In his subsequent appeal of the conviction, Lee argued the trial court made a mistake in admitting his own incriminating statements and erred in admitting expert testimony. He also claimed his lawyer was ineffective and that prosecutors committed misconduct in their handling of the case. The alleged missteps meant he didn't get a fair trial, Lee contended.
But the Court of Appeals concluded there were no errors or misconduct and affirmed his conviction.
Lindquist said the case was the first in Washington in which a caregiver was convicted of murder for neglecting a vulnerable adult.
The trial portion of the case was handled by deputy prosecutors Erika Nohavec and Bryce Nelson. Another deputy prosecutor, Jim Schacht, handled the appeal.
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