Suspect in Carnation slayings says she is guilty

The woman charged with killing six members of her family on Christmas Eve says she is sorry for her crime and wants to be punished in the most severe way possible — with a death sentence.

Michele Anderson, 29, has been trying to plead guilty to aggravated first-degree murder for months. However, a requirement in state law makes it impossible for her to do so because the King County prosecuting attorney is still deciding whether to seek the death penalty against her.

Anderson, however, claims that her public defenders have silenced her.

In a telephone interview from the King County Jail this morning, Anderson admitted to fatally shooting six members of her family, including two young children, during a holiday celebration at her parents' Carnation home. Anderson said she has desperately been trying to circumvent the special-sentencing process set out by state law — a process aimed at deciding whether she'll face the death penalty — and admit in court to the slayings.

"I'm a different kind of person," Anderson said this morning. "Life in prison is not enough punishment for me. I want the most severe punishment, which would be the death penalty. I want to waive my trial."

Anderson says she's been telling her attorneys for months that she wants to plead guilty to the slayings, but that they have told her she cannot.

The attorneys, Cindy Arends and Kevin Dolan, could not speak on the record, citing attorney-client confidentiality.

In May, a King County judge ordered Anderson to undergo a competency evaluation to determine whether she is capable of assisting in her defense at trial. Her attorneys had asked for the evaluation in a sealed motion, and had sought to close the courtroom so they could argue their case. However, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell said he would not close the courtroom.

The defense must submit a mitigation packet — a compilation of mental-health history and other evidence persuading King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg not to seek the death penalty — by July 10. Satterberg then has until Aug. 4 to make a decision.

"My lawyers also said that a mitigation packet is a requirement, and that's also a lie," Anderson said. "There are no mitigating factors. I've been evaluated by three doctors and I've been found competent. My lawyers are trying to force me into a life sentence because they're opposed to that."

Anderson said she's been ordered not to contact the media and until recently had been prevented from making calls from the King County Jail, where she's been since her arrest. "They're trying to keep me from speaking out."

However, state law dictates that: "Except with the consent of the prosecuting attorney, during the period in which the prosecuting attorney may file the notice of special sentencing proceeding, the defendant may not tender a plea of guilty to the charge of aggravated first degree murder nor may the court accept a plea of guilty to the charge of aggravated first degree murder or any lesser included offense."

Anderson also sent a letter to The Times stating that she wanted help suing her lawyers.

Anderson and her boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe, are each charged with six counts of aggravated murder in connection with the fatal shootings of Anderson's parents, Wayne, 60, and Judith Anderson, 61; her brother, Scott, and his wife, Erica, both 32; and the couple's two children, Olivia, 5, and Nathan, 3.

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com