Holly Grigsby gets life sentence in deadly Northwest crime spree

PORTLAND – A woman who took part in a Pacific Northwest killing rampage fueled by white supremacist beliefs apologized for her actions, but not her views.

Holly Grigsby, 27, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no chance for release.

She apologized in federal court to friends and relatives of the victims. Grigsby said she realized any explanation for her actions, such as her drug addiction, would come across as an excuse, “or make it feel like I’m rationalizing my own insane behavior.”

But Grigsby expressed no regret for white supremacist beliefs, only the effect her crimes would have on their public perception.

“My actions have further damaged the reputation of a movement misunderstood,” she said “I deeply regret this.”

Grigsby and her boyfriend, David “Joey” Pedersen, were arrested in 2011 following the deaths of four people: Pedersen’s father and stepmother in Everett, an Oregon teenager and a California man.

Grigsby pleaded guilty in March to racketeering charges connected to the four killings, and the plea agreement called for a life sentence with no chance for release.

Joey Pedersen has pleaded guilty to two counts of carjacking resulting in death – one for the death of teenager Cody Myers on the Oregon coast and the other for the killing of Reginald Clark in Eureka, California. He will be sentenced to life in prison at an Aug. 4 hearing in federal court.

He previously pleaded guilty in Washington state court to murder in the slayings of David “Red” Pedersen and Leslie “Dee Dee” Pedersen and was sentenced to life in prison.

Dee Dee Pedersen’s daughter, Lori Nemitz, told Grigsby in court that the murders were heinous and “beyond cruel,” and made no sense since Grigsby had been welcomed into the home as family.

“I hugged you for God’s sake,” Nemitz said.

Pedersen is the founder of a white supremacist prison gang, and he told Grigsby about his desire to start a revolution with a killing rampage targeting Jewish leaders.

It started on Sept. 26, 2011, when Joey Pedersen shot his father in the back of the head while the elder Pedersen was driving, authorities said. Red Pedersen moved and moaned for at least 30 minutes before dying, prosecutors said.

Pedersen and Grigsby returned to the house. Dee Dee Pedersen was bound with duct tape, cut in the neck and left to bleed to death.

“Animals are treated more humanely going to slaughter than your victims were,” said Holly Perez, the daughter of Red Pedersen and sister of Joey Pedersen.

The couple then drove Red Pedersen’s vehicle south into Oregon, where they shot and killed 19-year-old Myers and stole his car, authorities said. They shot Myers, who was Christian, because his name sounded Jewish, according to court documents.

Pedersen and Grigsby then headed to Northern California, where Clark, a 53-year-old black man, was shot to death.

Grigsby and Pedersen were arrested Oct. 5, 2011, outside Yuba City, California, when a police officer spotted them in Myers’ car. Grigsby told officers they were on their way to Sacramento to “kill more Jews,”’ court documents said.

Prosecutors said Grigsby has been a white supremacist since her early teens, and did not fall under Pedersen’s spell.