Russell Sentenced To Life In Prison

George Russell, King County's first convicted serial killer, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

And if he had a second life, he'd spend that in prison, too.

After hearing tearful testimony from family and friends of three Eastside women beaten to death in the summer of 1990, Superior Court Judge Patricia Aitken gave Russell the mandatory sentence for his crimes, two sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole and one sentence of nearly 29 years in prison.

For such "cruel killings," the mandatory sentence is appropriate, Aitken said.

Not all of the friends of Mary Anne Pohlreich, Carol Beethe and Andrea Levine, the three dead women, thought so.

"The three girls are gone, the families are destroyed," said Vivian Carlson, the mother of Levine's ex-boyfriend. "We just want retribution."

For the Pohlreichs, that meant death.

In this case, justice would be the maximum punishment, said Edward Pohlreich, Mary Anne's father.

"His going to prison is absolutely no compensation," said Steve Kowalczik, a friend of Mary Anne. "He's laughing at us."

King County prosecutors did not seek the death penalty for Russell for technical and political reasons.

"Life without parole is fine," said Deputy Prosecutor Rebecca Roe.

Russell declined to make a statement, just as he declined to testify at his trial, which ended Oct. 25, when a jury of six men and six women found him guilty of two charges of aggravated first-degree murder and one of first-degree murder.

Aitken also ordered Russell, who plans to appeal, to pay $15,000 in burial costs.

The judge denied a defense motion for a new trial.