Man pleads guilty to 20-year-old’s murder

A man accused of stabbing a 20-year-old Spokane woman in a hotel bathroom pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday.

Fernando Trejo-Ramirez, 20, is charged with the premeditated killing of Evelynn Grace Smith on Feb. 21 in a room at the Select Inn, 1420 W. Second Ave. He will be sentenced July 20 in Spokane County Superior Court.

The plea agreement recommends a 25-year sentence, deputy prosecutor Rachel Sterett said. Trejo-Ramirez, who also pleaded guilty to a two-year weapons enhancement for the use of a knife, could be sentenced to as much as 28 years.

Defense attorney Bevan Maxey said it was an “extremely sad” day for both Smith’s and Trejo-Ramirez’s families.

“He’s a young man with no prior criminal history who will be spending a lion’s share of his younger life in prison,” Maxey said.

Sterett declined to comment until after sentencing.

Trejo-Ramirez told police that Smith, a 2003 Lewis and Clark High School graduate whom he met in North Carolina, was his girlfriend, police have told The Spokesman-Review.

He called 911 early on the morning of Feb. 21, saying he was having trouble breathing and had lost a lot of blood, according to police. When Spokane Fire Department paramedics responded, he told them that he had attempted suicide and had fresh cuts on to his arms and neck.

He later disclosed that Smith was dead in Room 118.