SEATTLE Isaiah Kalebu, the man convicted for the 2009 rape and murder of a South Park woman, was sentencedFridayto life in prison without the posssibility of parole.
The sentencewas mandatory. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty against him because of his mental state.
Jurors agreed with prosecutors that in July 2009, Kalebu broke into a South Park home, where he held Teresa Butz and her partner captive and raped them repeatedly. After hours of torture, Kalebu slashed Butz just before she was able to break free, throwing herself through a window and into the street where she died.
Judge Michael Hayden said the jury s finding of deliberate cruelty permitted the imposition of an exceptional sentence, but by statute any exceptional sentence must be for a determined period.
Today the defendant s life expectancy is 47 years , therefore the attempted murder charge and the rape charge carry an aggravated sentence of 564 months each, to run consecutive to life in prison without possibility of parole, said the judge. That s as close as I can come to giving him three consecutive life sentences.
Butz's partner spoke directly to Kalebu at Friday's hearing.
I did beg you for my life, and she begged you for her life, andI tried to show you our humanity and any shred of goodness that I was hoping you could see, and it didn't matter that day, she said.
I wish you no harm, I never wanted you put to death, I don't seek revenge, I don't want anything bad to happen to you in prison, nothing, she said. I wish you peace every last day of your life.
Butz's father, whowas compelled to travel here from across the country to speak to his daughter's killer, said hehopes a light turns on and that he at least acknowledges that he did a dastardly, diabolical deed.
I'm not excusing him, and not forgiving him, but I pray for his soul, he said.
Throughout the course of trial, Kalebu was banned from the courtroom and was forced to watch the trial from a separate room due to his profane outbursts and violent behavior. He was also rushed to the hospital several times, once for swallowing a small pencil.
His behavior was so unsettling that, when testifying in his own defense, Kalebu was forced to wear a shock device, just in case he became violent.
