Elderly Woman’s Murderer Given 13-Year Prison Term

A Spokane man who said he has no memory of the crime was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for the murder of an elderly woman last year.

Allen John Brown, 22, was convicted of second-degree murder last month by a Spokane County Superior Court jury.

Prosecutors said Brown had been drinking in a West Central Spokane tavern the night of Nov. 5 before going to the home of Teresa Gunder, 67.

Gunder, who lived alone, was found strangled to death the next morning. Police found samples of Brown’s hair and his fingerprints in her home.

Brown, who did not testify at his trial, had also been using drugs at the time, his defense attorney, Al Rossi, told the court.

Witnesses also testified that Brown had been drinking heavily at the tavern on Nov. 5. He became belligerent and was asked to leave, witnesses said.

At the trial, his attorney told jurors that Brown may have come to Gunder’s house that night, but he did not commit the murder.

Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza denied prosecutors’ requests for an exceptional sentence, ordering the high end of the standard range for Brown.

Brown has only one prior conviction - for robbery when he was 14.

, DataTimes