Lamson Pleads Guilty -- Issaquah-Area Man Faces Rest Of Life In Prison

ISSAQUAH

Victor Lamson probably will die behind bars for killing his estranged wife. And prosecutors say that's fine.

"We always felt in this case," said King County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Davidheiser, "that a lengthy sentence is, in essence, a life sentence, given his age.

"It is the appropriate sentence, and the family is satisfied with this result."

Yesterday, the 54-year-old Issaquah-area man quietly pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to first-degree murder for the Jan. 23 shooting death of his wife, Gertrudes, 50.

Prosecutors said they will seek a 32-year prison term, the maximum under state guidelines. Sentencing was set for July 30.

Lamson, who is being held in the King County Jail, shot his wife, a nursing supervisor at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, in the parking lot of his Klahanie apartment. Then he shot himself in the chest.

The bullets ended Gertrudes Lamson's years-long ordeal to escape her husband's abuse.

She had filed for divorce, followed the proper legal channels to get protection orders and even left the state for a time. Ten days before she died, she had her husband arrested for violating a restraining order. He was released when he promised not to contact her again.

Yesterday, the Lamsons' sons watched as their father signed court documents in which he didn't specifically admit he shot his wife but agreed that the evidence was stacked against him. Called an Alford plea, it is legally the same as a standard guilty plea.

The sons declined to comment.

Lamson didn't explain his actions. Court papers said he was pleading guilty to stop prosecutors from upgrading the charge to aggravated first-degree murder, which carries the possibility of a death sentence.

Lamson's public defender, William Gales, said his client knows he probably will never get out of prison.

"It was a tragic situation," Gales said.