New Trial Ordered In Murder Case Spokane County Prosecutors Will Appeal Ruling On Tobias Stackhouse

A new trial has been ordered for a Spokane man convicted two years ago of murdering a woman who worked as a prostitute on East Sprague.

The Washington Court of Appeals ruled this week that two members of the jury that convicted Tobias Stackhouse were biased and should have been excused.

Stackhouse was sentenced in 1996 to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder. The victim was beaten, then stabbed 19 times in the neck and head.

Spokane County prosecutors said Friday they will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

“We believe this is clearly an incorrect interpretation of the law,” said Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Korsmo.

If the Supreme Court affirms the lower court or takes no action, Stackhouse, 21, will stand trial again later this year.

It’s the second Spokane murder conviction tossed out by the Court of Appeals in recent weeks.

On Jan. 14, the court overturned Rick Birnel’s 1995 murder conviction, finding improper instructions were given to the jury in the wife-killing case. That decision, too, has been appealed to the Supreme Court by prosecutors.

Stackhouse, a troubled teen with a long criminal record, initially confessed to killing Linda Guillen, who worked as a prostitute.

He later testified at trial that he made a false confession to protect his accomplice, Jason Kukrall, whom he called the real killer.

Stackhouse’s right to a fair trial was violated during jury selection, the Court of Appeals said in its 2-1 decision.

While potential jurors were being interviewed, two people who ended up on the panel said they knew about Stackhouse’s role in the January 1995 murder of Steve Roscoe of Elk, Wash. Stackhouse and Kukrall both pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in that killing.

Following voir dire in the Guillen case, defense attorney Greg Sypolt argued that the two jurors should be excused.

Superior Court Judge Robert Austin refused to dismiss the jurors, saying they promised to keep an open mind about Stackhouse and the evidence.

Stackhouse’s prison term will start after he completes a 23-year sentence for Roscoe’s murder.

Kukrall also is serving two consecutive murder sentences. He received a 17-year term after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for his role in Guillen’s death.

He testified against Stackhouse, saying they decided “to roll a hooker” to get some money.

Kukrall said he and Stackhouse drove along East Sprague on Dec. 1, 1994, and picked up Guillen, a Portland resident who had moved to Spokane a year earlier.

After sharing some beer, they drove her to a street near Playfair Race Track.

Stackhouse demanded Guillen perform a sex act for $8 and when she ran from the car, he became enraged and chased her, Kukrall said.

He said Stackhouse knocked her to the ground, kicked her repeatedly in the face, then stabbed her with a small knife.

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