Opel case timeline
April 13, 2001: Jerry Heimann, 64, is attacked and killed moments after he walks into his Everett home. His body is taken to the Tulalip Reservation and left in a ravine.
April 19, 2001: Police, alerted to Heimann's disappearance by his son, enter his home and find his 89-year-old disabled mother alone and suffering from dehydration. Barbara Opel, who had been a live-in caregiver for Heimann's mother, and five teens are arrested in connection with Heimann's slaying.
April 20, 2001: One of Opel's children not involved in the slaying leads police to Heimann's body.
Sept. 10, 2001: Jeffrey Grote, 17, one of the five teens charged in Heimann's slaying, pleads guilty to first-degree murder. He agrees to testify against the other defendants in exchange for a 50-year sentence.
Nov. 9, 2001: A Snohomish County judge rules that 14-year-olds Kyle Boston, Marriam Oliver and Opel's daughter Heather should be tried as adults. A fourth defendant, Boston's 13-year-old cousin, will be prosecuted as a juvenile.
Dec. 7, 2001: Boston, now 15, pleads guilty to second-degree murder and his cousin is found guilty of first- and second-degree murder. Boston's sentencing is delayed until after he testifies against the other defendants. His cousin is later sentenced to confinement until he is 21.
April 5, 2002: Oliver, now 15, is sentenced to 22 years in prison for her role in Heimann's slaying following a stipulated trial in Snohomish County Superior Court on a first-degree-murder charge, meaning the judge rendered a verdict based on police reports and other documents but did not hear testimony.
July 11, 2002: Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty against Barbara Opel. A woman has never been sentenced to death in Washington.
July 24, 2002: Heather Opel, 14, is found guilty of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon in a stipulated trial. She is later sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Jan. 6, 2003: A judge denies a motion by Barbara Opel's defense team that claimed that Washington state's death penalty is unconstitutional because the final decision, under appeal, is left to judges and not a jury.
Jan. 27, 2003: A judge denies a change-of-venue motion filed by Opel's attorneys, who claim pre-trial publicity will prevent her from getting a fair trial in Snohomish County.
March 20, 2003: Opel's trial begins.
April 8, 2003: After five hours of deliberation, the jury finds Opel guilty of aggravated first-degree murder.
April 18, 2003: Opel is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.