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

Jury convicts two in murder of pregnant woman

The Spokesman-Review
Okanogan County jurors late Thursday night convicted two Spokane residents in the 2009 murder of a pregnant woman near Tonasket. Tansy Fay-Arwen Mathis, 30, was found guilty of aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter of an unborn child, first-degree kidnapping and tampering with evidence. David Eugene Richards, 34, was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. The jury, which reached its verdict about 11 p.m., convicted the two in the killing of Michelle Kitterman, 25, who was found dead along a driveway adjacent to Stalder Road in Tonasket on March 1, 2009. Kitterman was 11 weeks pregnant. Awaiting trial for murder is Lacey K. Hirst-Pavek, 33, of Tonasket, who is accused of offering $500 to have Kitterman killed because Kitterman was having an affair with her husband. A key witness was Brent L. Phillips, 39, of Spokane, who was involved in the killing and pleaded guilty last month in the murder. Mathis, formerly of Tonasket, is believed to have met with Hirst-Pavek several times in arranging to have Kitterman killed. An ice pick was used in the slaying.