‘She was my sunshine’ mother of woman killed at Whatcom park says as two sent to prison
Two of the three men involved in a planned robbery that ended in the death of a 21-year-old Sedro Woolley woman at a park in Acme earlier this year have been sentenced to prison, while the third has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Payton Thomas Mulryan, 25, of Lynden and Brent Scott Gerber, 48, of Blaine both pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree manslaughter (a felony) on Oct. 30 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Tyler James O’Keefe, 23, of Bellingham also pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter on Nov. 12, according to court records.
Mulryan, Gerber and O’Keefe were each originally charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery, according to court records.
At their plea and sentencing hearings in late October, Mulryan was sentenced by Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman to a little more than 11½ years in prison, with three years probation, while Gerber was sentenced to a little more than nine years in prison, with three years probation.
O’Keefe’s sentencing has been set for Dec. 10. He is currently incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail.
The crime
The three men pleaded guilty for their roles in the robbery and murder of Darian D. Sather on April 4 at the South Fork Park in Acme.
During an interview with Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office investigators after his arrest, Gerber said Mulryan asked him for a ride to the park in Acme so Mulryan could meet with Sather. Gerber agreed, knowing Mulryan intended to rob Sather of $250 after setting up a fake drug deal, according to court records. Gerber, Mulryan and O’Keefe drove to the park just before dawn on April 4.
Sather and two friends drove to the park early that Saturday to buy the drugs. When the three arrived, they parked behind a truck with Gerber, O’Keefe and Mulryan inside, court records state.
Sather got out with $250 to purchase drugs and approached the truck, but Mulryan yelled at Gerber to drive away. Gerber said he accelerated to 30 mph and started swerving, but Sather held onto the truck. Mulryan and O’Keefe hit Sather in the face and body, and O’Keefe attempted to use a Taser on her to get her off the vehicle, according to court records. Gerber told the investigators he remembered the passenger door opening and Sather falling to the ground.
Sather’s friends told deputies they determined she had been run over by the truck and was dead, but left the scene “because they were scared,” according to court records.
The Whatcom County Medical Examiner ruled Sather’s death a homicide and determined she died within seconds or minutes of being struck by the truck from massive head injuries, according to previous reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
Family grieves
At Mulryan and Gerber’s sentencings, which were held together, Sather’s family told the court about an intelligent, creative woman who loved her family.
As Sather’s mother, grandmother and grandfather each addressed the court and shared memories of Sather and her life, a large, framed photograph of Sather was placed behind them on the first court bench. Sather’s grandfather also brought her ashes in an urn with him.
Sather’s mother said on April 4 the community lost a “precious, beautiful, young lady.” She said Sather’s father had only love in his eyes for his daughter and that she was an amazing child who protected and loved her younger brother.
“She was my best friend. There is nobody to take her place. I won’t get to see her get married. I won’t get to hold her belly. I won’t get to be a grandma. There isn’t an hour that goes by that I don’t miss her deeply,” Sather’s mother said. “She was my sunshine, my best friend, a huge light to this world amidst her addiction.”
Sather’s grandmother said when the family first received the news of Sather’s death, they couldn’t believe it and thought it was a mistake that law enforcement officers were standing on their front porch.
“Oh how often I wish the men had made different choices. I wish they hadn’t chosen to drive to the park that morning. I wish they hadn’t chosen to rob Darian. I wish they had chosen to not take off in their truck with Darian hanging onto it. I wish they hadn’t chosen to leave her there to die. I wish they had chosen to call 911. I wish they had chosen to get out of the truck to help stop the bleeding,” Sather’s grandmother said. “But all that wishing won’t bring her back.”
Sather’s grandfather said God changed his life, and he urged Mulryan and Gerber to accept God while in prison. He said he didn’t have any hard feelings toward the men and told them he’d pray for them.
Asking forgiveness
Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kellen Kooistra said at the October sentencing hearing for Gerber and Mulryan that the recommended prison time for each was agreed upon between the prosecution and defense.
Kooistra said the recommended time for each man took into account the “devastating” effects their actions had on Sather and her family, but also acknowledged that Gerber and Mulryan were taking responsibility for their actions, and giving up their trial and appeal rights by pleading guilty. He said Sather’s family’s lives were “irreparably damaged” by the decisions Gerber and Mulryan made on April 4.
“There is no indication here that Mr. Mulryan and Mr. Gerber went to the park and started these series of events with an intent or plan to kill Darian. But in every instance during the course of these events, they showed a complete disregard and indifference to Darian’s safety and to her life,” Kooistra said. “This plea and sentences they will have to serve is a first step towards these individuals reckoning with the terrible damage they have caused.”
Kooistra asked the judge to sentence Mulryan to a little more than 11½ years and Gerber to a little more than nine years in prison.
Starck Follis, the director of the Whatcom County Public Defender’s Office and Gerber’s defense attorney, said the resolution took into account the lack of intent to kill Sather and the need for her family to have closure. Follis said Gerber has a 10-year-old son who he hopes to see again someday soon, and that Gerber has shown extreme remorse for Sather’s death.
“I know I can never bring her back and give you your loved one, but if I could I would gladly trade my life for hers,” Gerber said.
Mulryan’s defense attorney, Michael Brodsky, said it was clear the men never intended to harm Sather. Brodsky said it was an ill-conceived plan, and the men didn’t anticipate how badly it could turn out. Brodsky said Mulryan will be in his late 30s when he’s released from prison, which allows him time to create goodness in the world and atone for the pain he’s caused.
“There are a million things I feel like I want to say, but I know there is nothing that can bury the sorrow this family is holding,” Mulryan said in court. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart and hope one day you can forgive me in the role that I held in this tragic accident.”
Five others charged
Five other people have also been charged in connection with Sather’s death for helping Mulryan and O’Keefe evade law enforcement before their arrests.
Tiffany Marie Mulryan, 30, of Everson; Cody Anderson Ternan, 26, of Maple Falls; and Courtney Lea Kinley, 22; Kimberly Ann Swendt, 29; and Zackery William Harkness, 30, all of Bellingham, were all charged with one count each of first-degree rendering criminal assistance (a felony). Ternan is also charged with one count of felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Swendt pleaded guilty on May 14 to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Swent was given an exceptional sentence below the standard range of six months in jail. She also participated in an inpatient treatment program and was given 26 days credit in jail and had served her jail sentence as of mid-August.
Kinley is scheduled for a plea and sentencing on Dec. 2. Ternan’s, Harkness’s and Tiffany Mulryan’s jury trials are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4, Feb. 1 and Feb. 22, respectively.
