Tri-Cities woman admits killing a man who borrowed her Lexus and never returned it
KENNEWICK – A woman may be serving six years in prison after a confrontation with a man about her car turned deadly.
Marta Miller-Keith, 55, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter on the same day jury selection was expected to begin in her murder trial in Kennewick.
She had been facing a second-degree murder charge.
Miller-Keith was accused of taking a taxi to the Riviera Village mobile home park on Road 32 in August 2021, and stabbing Bobby G. Burgess, 55, according to court documents.
Defense attorney Scott Johnson previously argued that Burgess refused to return her 2002 Lexus that she had loaned him.
He planned to argue to jurors that she was defending her property when the argument started, according to court documents.
While she would normally face as much as two years and three months for the crime, prosecutors and her defense attorney agreed to recommend a longer 6½ year sentence, according to court records. But it is less than she might have received if convicted of murder.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Miller-Keith had no criminal convictions before the stabbing.
Johnson said he would wait for the sentencing hearing before commenting on the case.
The length of the sentence was the same as what prosecutors initially offered if she had pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Miller-Keith told police she loaned the car to Burgess earlier in the year to take items to Goodwill for her, according to court documents. He never brought it back.
She tried to report the car as stolen to Kennewick police, but officers told her that she would need to pursue it through civil court since she had loaned him the car.
Investigators found the title in Burgess’ wallet. Initially it looked like she had signed it, but a handwriting expert later found that it wasn’t her signature.
It’s not certain if Burgess forged it or if someone else had.
He had a lengthy criminal history that included convictions for theft, illegal gun possession and possession of stolen property. He also was facing a burglary charge in Benton County before he died.
On Aug. 21, 2021, Miller-Keith called a taxi to pick her up at her Columbia Center Boulevard apartment about 2:30 a.m. The driver for RadCab told police that he took her to a trailer at Road 32 in Pasco.
As they drove to Pasco, Miller-Keith started talking about an issue with a car and a man at the trailer. The driver admitted he wasn’t paying close attention to her.
When she arrived, she asked the driver to park near another trailer, turn his lights off and wait for her. She also left behind her purse in the cab.
While preparing the woman’s bill, the cab driver heard two people fighting near Burgess’ trailer. The driver rolled down his window and yelled at them.
Burgess came running toward the taxi and yelled, “She stabbed me.” He then collapsed, and the driver called 911.
Officers found Miller-Keith sitting in the 2002 Lexus and the driver’s side window was broken. There was a white bag with a knife and blood on the passenger seat.
Pasco medics performed first aid, but could not save Burgess. He died at the scene.