Teenager enters plea of guilty in murder

By Jennifer Sullivan
Times Snohomish County bureau

Joshua Goldman pleaded guilty to murder charges.

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Goldman and his friend, Jenson Hankins, talked about whether to shoot Jasmer or steal chloroform from a University of Washington chemistry lab to knock him out before killing him. Reality didn't set in, Goldman's attorney said, until the two teens bludgeoned and stabbed Jasmer to death, then buried him in a grave on the Tulalip Reservation on Aug. 21, 2003.

Goldman yesterday pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, sobbing as corrections officers led him out of a Snohomish County courtroom.

Formerly a student at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Goldman, now 18, is expected to be sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in Jasmer's slaying.

"He had a hard time understanding the reality of this," defense attorney Max Harrison said after the plea hearing. "I'm not blaming violent video games for this happening, but Josh played lots of video games. He's very immature for his age."

Prosecutors accepted Goldman's guilty plea in exchange for his promise that he will testify against Hankins when the 17-year-old is tried for first-degree murder in October. Goldman will be sentenced Nov. 9.

"It was an important day for Josh Goldman and the Jasmer family," said Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Held. "Taking responsibility for this unthinkable and horrific crime allows the closure process to begin."

On the day of his death, Jasmer went with Goldman and Hankins after they allegedly told him they were going to Marysville to buy marijuana. The teens took Jasmer into woods on the Tulalip Reservation, near the site where they already had dug his grave. Jasmer was struck with a hammer, stabbed, then suffocated, according to court papers.

Both teens were arrested Aug 28, a day after Goldman took police to Jasmer's body, according to court papers.

Harrison said it was Hankins' idea to kill Jasmer because he believed Jasmer had raped his 15-year-old girlfriend in June 2003. Harrison said Goldman also believed the girl was raped and went along with the plan because he felt he wanted "to right the injustice."

The girl filed a police report claiming she had been raped but recanted her story about a month later. When police questioned Jasmer, he insisted the sex was consensual, according to a Seattle police report.
 
Hankins' attorney, Rachel Levy, couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

Donna Jasmer, the slain teen's mother, cried during the brief hearing yesterday. Afterward, she told a sheriff's detective she felt sympathy for Goldman because he is only 18.

Mike White, Donna Jasmer's longtime partner, said Goldman's plea brought him a sense of relief.

"It's the beginning of closure," White said. "You want to always remember his [John's] life and not remember anything about his death."

The Seattle Times usually does not name juvenile defendants in criminal cases but is identifying the teens because they have been charged as adults.

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com