Killer Faces 42-1/2-Year Sentence Deal Means Bence Avoids Possible Death Sentence

Jackie Bence may have saved her life by pleading guilty Thursday to first-degree murder, but she likely will be in her 60s before she gets out of prison.

Bence, 21, agreed not to challenge the 42-1/2-year sentence Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Tom Metzger will recommend at her sentencing hearing March 7. Even with credit for good behavior, Bence would have to serve about 40 years.

In return, Metzger reduced the charge from aggravated first-degree murder. If convicted and sent to death row, Bence could have become the first woman to be executed in Washington.

She admitted stabbing, beating and strangling Richard P. Morley, 30, last April at Eloika Lake.

Bence said she and Alan Rochek, 28, decided to kill Morley while they were driving the handcuffed victim to the lake. They set out to rough him up for failing to pay Rochek a portable stereo and a set of tires as part of a check fraud scheme.

Morley was at Rochek’s Spokane house when Rochek and Bence, who were part of a methamphetamine ring, kidnapped him.

Rochek pleaded guilty in July to aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Metzger agreed to drop efforts to seek the death penalty against Rochek.

Superior Court Judge Larry Kristianson asked Thursday why Bence should get a lighter sentence. Metzger said Public Defender Maryann Moreno uncovered witnesses and evidence that might undercut Rochek’s usefulness as a witness against Bence. Moreno also raised issues about the admissibility of Bence’s confession.

The most important reason, Metzger and Kristianson agreed, was the desire of Morley’s family to resolve the case without exposing the victim’s criminal record in a trial.

As part of the deal, Spokane County prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges against Bence for an alleged assault against Spokane resident Casey Parker.

Morley’s relatives plan to speak at Bence’s sentencing hearing, and Moreno will present evidence of Bence’s tragic childhood.

Kristianson is unlikely to shorten Bence’s recommended sentence in view of his concern about parity with Rochek’s sentence. And the judge noted Bence could appeal a sentence longer than the one for which she bargained.

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