Joseph Mark Lamar
Janell Renee Knight
Woodland triple homicide suspect could face death penalty
By Jim Ryan
The Oregonian
A man accused of shooting four people, killing three of them, earlier this month in Clark County could face the death penalty.
Brent Ward Luyster, 35, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and other charges, according to court records filed Wednesday. He was previously facing first-degree murder charges, but records show the charges were amended.
In Washington, a conviction for aggravated first-degree murder carries a sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Columbian, which first reported the news Wednesday evening, said prosecutors haven't decided whether they'll seek Luyster's execution. The newspaper reported that prosecutors are pursuing the aggravated murder charges because of the severity of Luyster's alleged actions.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee put a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2014. Two people have been executed in Washington state since the turn of the century, most recently in 2010.
Luyster is accused of fatally shooting Joseph Lamar, Zachary Thompson and Janell Knight at 4006 N.W. 417th St. in Woodland on July 15. He was arrested less than 24 hours later, and is being held without bail in the Clark County Jail.
His girlfriend, Andrea Danielle Sibley, was arrested Thursday and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a first-degree rendering criminal assistance charge, records show. She's being held in the Clark County Jail on $400,000 bail, according to jail records.
The shootings triggered a manhunt for Luyster, who was arrested while camping near Abernathy Creek Road in Cowlitz County with Sibley and their toddler son, according to records.
Sibley, 27, told investigators in an interview that the camping trip was unplanned and that she didn't know what happened the day of the killings. She told them, though, that she was pretty sure bad things happened, according to records.
Breanne Leigh, who was shot in the face, told investigators that Sibley was at the Woodland property at the time of the shooting, as were Luyster's 12-year-old son and the couple's toddler.
Leigh said the toddler had been sleeping in Sibley's SUV, the 12-year-old boy had been inside, and Sibley had been outside. She told investigators they and the SUV were gone when she came to.
Investigators seized Sibley's clothes and purse after the interview. The tread of her shoes appeared to be stained with blood, according to records. There was gun paraphernalia inside her storage unit, records show, and her SUV's inside, driver's door handle appeared to be stained with blood.
Records show the driver's door window of her SUV was shattered, and the glass appeared to be the same as fragments found at Lamar and Thompson's feet.
Luyster also is facing attempted murder and weapons charges, records show.
http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-coun...rt_river_index
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