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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Killer gets life in prison under 3 strikes law

Convicted killer and career burglar David K. Brewzcynski received Wednesday the only sentence available to him — life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Brewczynski, 44, was convicted of bludgeoning and shooting 80-year-old Kenneth Cross on Sept. 20, 2008. The April murder conviction was Brewczynski’s third strike, meaning his only available sentence was life in prison under state law. He read from a brief statement and said he did not kill Cross.

He also intends to appeal, according to court testimony before Superior Court Judge Annette Plese.

  Cross was found beaten and shot in his Boone Avenue home in Spokane Valley on Sept. 20, 2008. The autopsy showed he had been struck with a blunt object 24 times in the head, about the same number of times in the torso and shot three times in the head.

Past coverage:

Past coverage:

April 21: Jury convicts career burglar of murder

April 8: Trial starts in death of 80-year-old man

Nov. 19, 2008: Accused killer pleads not guilty

Oct. 10, 2008: Murder victim may have been targeted

Oct. 2, 2008: Burglar's storage unit yields dead man's ID



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