Zapata's killer gets 36 years
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When Jesus Mezquia stepped in the courtroom yesterday to be sentenced for the rape and murder of Mia Zapata, some of her friends and fans had never seen him in person before.
Some gasped, some began to sob, a few hurled epithets.
Mezquia, convicted in March of killing the up-and-coming singer more than 10 years ago, was sentenced during the emotionally charged hearing to more than 36 years in prison by King County Superior Court Judge Sharon Armstrong.
The sentence was 10 years longer than the standard maximum for felony murder.
After playing a film paying homage to Zapata, King County Deputy Prosecutor Tim Bradshaw argued that Mezquia deserved a longer sentence than the standard.
He said Zapata's death was painful, cruel and violent.
"The state thinks that Mia was an exceptional person and the crime was exceptional," Bradshaw said.
Then, in an unusual move, he called for a show of hands from those in the packed courtroom who supported the longer sentence.
Most of the spectators raised their hands.
In meting out the punishment, Armstrong said she found a legal basis for the longer sentence in the physical evidence presented at trial. Zapata suffered numerous rips, tears and internal injuries that went beyond those found in a typical rape and murder, Armstrong said.
The judge also spoke warmly to Zapata's family members, friends and fans, many of whom had attended every day of the trial that lasted more than two weeks.
"It is evident that Mia Zapata was an extraordinary person. It is obvious that she was very vibrant and that you loved her very much," Armstrong said. "It is almost 11 years after her death, but it's as though for many of you she is still alive."
Mezquia, a 49-year-old native of Cuba, was arrested last year after DNA linked him to the decade-old death.
Zapata was a Midwestern transplant to Seattle and the talented 27-year-old lead singer of The Gits.
She was described by fans as being an "old soul" and as having a gift for understanding and conveying the sorrow and pain of the human condition in her songs.
She was last seen alive around 2 a.m. July 7, 1993, on Capitol Hill. She had been out drinking that night, celebrating a successful West Coast tour and grieving a recently lost relationship.
Her body was found about 75 minutes after she said good night to a girlfriend and walked off toward home.
She'd been brutally raped, strangled with the cords of her sweat-shirt hood and left on a dead-end street on Capitol Hill.
Her death sparked outrage and fear for family, friends and fans. An all-night candlelight vigil in Zapata's memory was held, friends and fans raised money to hire a private investigator, and a women's self-defense group was started.
Police and private investigators considered scores of theories and suspects, but the case remained unsolved until a year and a half ago when DNA, taken from bite wounds on Zapata's body, was submitted to the state crime lab.
Initially, there was no match, but within months, Mezquia was arrested in a Florida felony case and required to submit his DNA for the national DNA databank.
"I do feel like there was some justice and peace of mind because we don't have to worry about him doing this to someone else," said Barbara Hood, Zapata's stepmother.
"There is closure," said the singer's band mate Steve Moriarty, "in that I never have to think about that guy again."
Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com