Justin Crenshaw double-homicide case

Justin Crenshaw killed Sarah A. Clark, 18, and Tanner E. Pehl, 20, on Feb. 28, 2008, two weeks after arriving in Spokane from Las Vegas to reunite with his sister, who was close friends with Clark. He met Pehl after getting hired at a north Spokane restaurant. After more than two years of trial preparation that included several defense attorneys and the prosecution's decision not to seek the death penalty, a jury convicted Crenshaw on July 27, 2010, of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder. He's to be sentenced to life in prison without parole on Aug. 5, 2010.

Section:Gallery

Tue., July 27, 2010

Justin Crenshaw walks past family members of Tanner Pehl on July 8, 2008. It was the family's first time seeing Crenshaw in person. He successfully asked Judge Tari Eitzen for a new lawyer at the hearing, saying an employee of the public defender's office was close friends with Sarah Clark's family.
Sarah Anne Clark was born Dec. 29, 1989 to Steve and Teesha Clark.
Justin Crenshaw appears in Spokane County District Court on two counts of first-degree murder on Friday, Feb. 29, 2008.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Justin W. Crenshaw at a pre-trial hearing on July 9, 2010.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Spokane County prosecutor candidate Chris Bugbee, attorney for killer Justin Crenshaw, walks past a witness during a hearing at the Spokane County Courthouse on July 9, 2010.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Murder victim Tanner Pehl loved to cook and play guitar.
Murder victim Tanner E. Pehl, 20, was known for his outgoing personality. He met Justin Crenshaw after Crenshaw was hired at Brooklyn's Woodfire Grill, where Pehl worked as a cook. A friend of Pehl's told detectives after the murders that Pehl had said Crenshaw "liked to fist fight and was very violent when he got drunk," according to police reports.
Murder victim Sarah A. Clark, 18, was involved in track, cross-country and yearbook and had an after-school job at Albertsons. She was to graduate from Mead High School in spring 2008.
This bench at Mead High School honors murder victim Sarah A. Clark, who was known for her zebra-striped coat.
This photo of murder victim Sarah A. Clark was shown to a Spokane County jury. After nearly two-and-a-half years of preparation and a two-week trial, jurors convicted her killer, Justin W. Crenshaw, of aggravated first-degree murder on July 27, 2010.
Justin W. Crenshaw is led from a courtroom at the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010, after he was found guilty of two aggravated first degree murder charges.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Katie Pehl, center, talks about her brother, Tanner Pehl, while standing with (from left) her parents and brothers Matt and Cameron outside the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010, just after a jury found Justin Crenshaw guilty of aggravated first-degree murder. Crenshaw killed Tanner and 18-year-old Sarah Clark on Feb. 28, 2008.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Katie Pehl listens to her mother talk about her brother, Tanner Pehl, outside the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Tanner was the victim of a brutal murder in 2008, along with Sarah Clark. Their killer, Justin W. Crenshaw, was found guilty of two aggravated first-degree murder charges Tuesday.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
An engraved photo of Tanner Pehl hangs around his mother Laurie's neck at the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Katie Pehl, sister of Tanner Pehl, hugs Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Jack Driscoll at the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Driscoll, the county's chief criminal prosecutor, successfully prosecutored Tanner's killer, Justin W. Crenshaw, on two counts of aggravated first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Killer Justin W. Crenshaw, right, talks with his attorney, Chris Bugbee at the Spokane County Courthouse Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Crenshaw, 22, was found guilty of two aggravated first-degree murder charges Tuesday for the Feb. 28, 2008, deaths of Tanner Pehl and Sarah Clark.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review