Third man sent to prison for death of woman killed at Whatcom park earlier this year
The third man 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 has been sentenced to prison.
Tyler James O’Keefe, 23, of Bellingham, was sentenced Thursday, Dec. 10, in Whatcom County Superior Court to a little more than nine years in prison, with three years probation, according to Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kellen Kooistra. O’Keefe previously pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter (a felony) on Nov. 12, according to court records.
The two other men involved, 25-year-old Payton Thomas Mulryan of Lynden and 48-year-old Brent Scott Gerber of Blaine, also pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree manslaughter on Oct. 30. On the same day, Mulryan was sentenced to a little more than 11½ years in prison, with three years probation, and Gerber was sentenced to a little more than nine years in prison, with three years probation, court records show.
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.
The crime
The three men pleaded guilty and were sent to prison 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.
Sather’s family described her as an intelligent, creative woman who loved her family. Sather’s family brought a large, framed photograph of her and her ashes in an urn to Gerber and Mulryan’s sentencings. They also spoke and brought the photograph and urn to O’Keefe’s sentencing this week as well, Kooistra, the prosecutor, said.
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; 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. Swendt 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, court records show.
Kinley is scheduled for a plea and sentencing or a status hearing on Dec. 16, according to court records. Ternan’s, Harkness’s and Tiffany Mulryan’s jury trials are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4, Feb. 1 and Feb. 22, respectively, the records state.
