A man who was convicted last month of his parents’ murder in 2021 received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced yesterday.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Wilson sentenced Josiah Sweeney, 31, to life in jail for first-degree murder, on top of 65 months for burglary charges and 26 months for assault charges related to the killing of his parents, Patricia and Michael.
The couple’s family members addressed the court at the hearing, describing their grief and the impact of the deaths on their lives. The relatives supported the sentence for Sweeney.
Judge Wilson commended the family for their strength and support for each other throughout the trial.
In October 2021, Sheriff’s deputies conducted a welfare check on Patricia and Michael after their pastor reported their highly unusual absence from service.
Authorities arrived at their address and found that “a man and woman in their 70s had been killed.”
Deputies found Sweeney was asleep in another bedroom inside the house, along with a vehicle registered under his name and two large knives in the kitchen sink.
A forensic analysis revealed the couple’s blood and Sweeney’s fingerprints on the knives. Deputies also learned that Michael had a protection order against his son.
Last January 31, a Thurston County jury found Sweeney guilty of two counts of first-degree aggravated murder, one count of first-degree burglary with a deadly weapon, and assault violating a no-contact order.
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