May 29, 2010 in City

Charges stiffened in stabbing death

If convicted, woman would get life sentence

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OKANOGAN, Wash. – An Okanogan County judge Thursday agreed to let prosecutors up the ante for the last of four people accused of killing 25-year-old Michelle Kitterman last year.

Lacey Hirst-Pavek, 35, of Tonasket, is now charged with aggravated first-degree murder and faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted.

The Tonasket wife and mother had been charged with first-degree murder. With no criminal history, she would have faced a maximum of 26 years in prison if found guilty, prosecutors say.

Hirst-Pavek showed no visible emotion after the judge’s ruling.

Although she was charged more than a year ago, Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Chris Culp ruled that Jennifer Richardson, chief criminal deputy prosecutor, can amend her charge to include aggravating factors.

Hirst-Pavek is also charged with first-degree manslaughter for the death of Kitterman’s unborn child.

Kitterman was found March 1, 2009, stabbed and beaten to death on the side of a snow-covered driveway southwest of Tonasket.

Three Spokane residents have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the killing.

Last month, an Okanogan County jury found Tansy F. Mathis, 30, guilty of first-degree aggravated murder, and David E. Richards, 34, guilty of second-degree murder. Mathis was sentenced to life in prison, and Richards was sentenced to 22 years.

Prosecutors say Hirst-Pavek initiated the plot to kill or injure Kitterman because Kitterman was having an affair with her husband, Danny Pavek, and became pregnant with his child.

Documents filed with her charges state that Hirst-Pavek became so jealous she sought to hire someone to beat up Kitterman so that she would lose the baby.

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