Bellingham man sent to prison for shooting, killing woman in apartment complex stairwell

A judge sentenced a Bellingham man to more than seven years in prison for shooting and killing a woman in a stairwell at the 22 North complex after hearing emotional statements from the family, and a letter from the victim herself, at a court hearing earlier this week.

Shilo Aron Englert, 35, was sentenced Monday, July 1, in Whatcom County Superior Court to seven years and five months in prison, with 1.5 years of probation for the Feb. 8, 2022 shooting death of 31-year-old Kasaundra “Kassy” May Booker. Englert originally was charged with second-degree murder, but his charge was reduced to second-degree manslaughter as part of an agreed resolution between the prosecuting and defense attorneys.

Englert pleaded guilty June 12 to the reduced charge for Booker’s death. The plea deal also resolved four other criminal cases Englert was facing stemming from a roughly 10-month crime spree, in which Englert was accused of stealing multiple vehicles and shooting two people, one fatally. Englert will serve his prison sentences for those cases at the same time as his manslaughter case.

As part of his sentencing, Englert will be required to register as a felony firearm offender and will be required to undergo a substance use disorder evaluation and comply with any recommended treatment.

He will also get credit for the 2.5 years he has been incarcerated prior to the resolution of his cases.

Evidence issues

To a courtroom filled with Booker’s family, friends and various law enforcement officials Monday, Whatcom County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erik Sigmar laid out the gaps in the murder case against Englert and explained how the attorneys reached the agreed-upon resolution.

Sigmar said it would have been “very difficult” to convict Englert of second-degree murder had the case gone to trial due to a multitude of evidentiary concerns. Two of the biggest issues for the prosecution, Sigmar said, was the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s opinion that the gunshot wound to Booker could have been self-inflicted, and the lack of credible witnesses.

Sigmar said it was clear the majority of the witnesses in the case were on drugs, suffering from mental illness, or both, at the time of Booker’s shooting, and that none were deemed to be accurate historians. This presented “real concerns” in the prosecution’s ability to meet the burden of proof for a jury to convict Englert of murder, he said.

The facts the prosecution had that Sigmar said he felt they could have proven at trial were that Englert and Booker smoked fentanyl in the stairway at the 22 North complex in downtown Bellingham together; that Englert brought a firearm into the situation; that the firearm discharged, killing Booker; and that Englert fled the scene with the gun and failed to render aid to Booker.

These facts do show criminal negligence on Englert’s part, which is the basis for Washington’s second-degree manslaughter charge, he said.

“While no one in this courtroom, and no one that we know of in law enforcement, knows exactly what happened inside that stairwell, we do know at a minimum the defendant in this case acted negligently and caused the death of Kasaundra Booker and that is exactly what he’s plead guilty to,” Sigmar said.

The agreed resolution for Englert provides accountability for the community and sets him up for further penalties if he commits additional crimes in the future, Sigmar said. It also provides closure to Booker’s family, he said, acknowledging that that closure may be dissatisfying.

Sigmar spoke with Booker’s family, whom he said handled themselves with grace throughout the process. He told family and friends present in court that he was “very sorry” for their loss.

“She was young, valued and a loved member of our community. And I understand this plea deal won’t bring her back or restore the family or meet the measure of justice they seek. Plea bargaining is an integral part of our imperfect system of justice and I stand by this resolution based on the significant evidentiary barriers to proceeding to trial,” Sigmar said Monday. “Given the evidentiary barriers and concerns, the state feels like this is the best possible outcome.”

Taking responsibility

Ryan Swinburnson, Englert’s defense attorney, echoed Sigmar’s statements in court.

He said not a single person wanted to be in the situation they were in Monday, but said it was important to acknowledge that the sentencing hearing was occurring because Englert was taking responsibility for his actions.

Swinburnson, Whatcom County’s senior conflict attorney, said he believed that had Englert gone to trial for second-degree murder, he would have been acquitted. He said that outcome, following a lengthy trial, would have been more dissatisfying to Booker’s family and friends than Englert accepting the plea deal.

While he believes they would have prevailed at trial in all of Englert’s cases, Swinburnson said they would have had to “run the gambit” of being successful with each one in order to get a better outcome than the plea bargain.

“So I’m hopeful that the court and the people present will take some solace in the fact that Mr. Englert is taking responsibility. There is some responsibility to be had, as Mr. Sigmar pointed out, in putting himself in the position he did, and putting the victim in this case in the position that she’s in,” Swinburnson said, adding that extensive negotiations have been occurring between the attorneys for the past two years.

Swinburnson said he has also spoken numerous times at length with Englert, who has said he intends to be a better person moving forward and wants to learn how to become a productive member of society.

He said Englert would likely not address the court, in part because it would not benefit Booker’s family and because of how the attorneys arrived at the resolution, noting the medical examiner’s opinion regarding the potential of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Englert ultimately declined to speak at his sentencing hearing when asked by the judge.

“I think what these cases show and spotlight is the problem with drugs in our society and the most extreme ramifications of what drug use gets you,” Swinburnson said.

A best friend

In emotional statements read aloud by victim advocates in court Monday, Booker’s family told the judge of her heart, kindness and determination. Multiple family members said they miss her smile and the sound of her laughter.

Rachel Henry, Booker’s stepsister, said she always wanted a little sister and was blessed when she and Booker became family. She said they were best friends and that Booker asked smart questions that made Henry look differently at life.

Henry said Booker could make anyone laugh, no matter how grumpy they were, and recalled the determination Booker, who struggled with addiction, had in trying to make a better life for herself.

“Sometimes second-degree murder can have a life sentence. Our family is already carrying the burden of a life sentence without our beloved Kassy,” Henry said in her statement read aloud on her behalf by a victim advocate. “Kassy’s life is worth so much more.”

Booker’s older brother, Randy, said his sister loved to make memories and laugh about nothing. He said it was unfair the way Booker was taken from them at such a young age. He said he was torn by knowing she won’t get to watch his daughters, her niece’s, grow up.

“My sister, Kassy, was a wonderful, colorful person who gave her heart to anyone who needed it,” Randy Booker said in his statement read by a victim advocate.

He, too, called his little sister his best friend.

“We shared so many good memories growing up, camping and adventuring in the woods, or playing in the swamps. I wish every day I could spend more time creating these again,” his statement said.

Booker’s stepfather, Chris Turner, who calls himself her “papa,” said while Booker may not have always made the best decisions, she wouldn’t hurt anyone else or herself. He said her death has torn their family apart.

He said Englert “is on his way to self-destruction,” and asked the judge to sentence him to enough prison time to ensure he didn’t hurt or kill someone else.

Booker’s mother, Vickie Turner, brought a black box containing Booker’s ashes up to the podium, while a victim advocate held a poster collage with photographs of Booker in the direction of the judge.

“This is what I used to have,” Vickie Turner said, motioning to the poster. “And now this, this is what I have. This is what I get,” she said, pulling Booker’s ashes out and setting them next to her on the stand.

“I’m supposed to tell you how this has affected me — the murder of my baby girl. It’s impossible to say. There’s no words. You can’t tell anyone the depth of the agony of the person going through it,” Vickie Turner said, holding a handwritten piece of notebook paper with her statement.

Vickie Turner said she has cried all of the 873 days since her daughter’s death. She said the women in their family tend to live into their 90s, but that Booker only got to be 31 for three weeks.

Vickie Turner said her daughter loved life and was happy for the chance of change, noting a spot Booker reportedly got in a residential recovery treatment program for women and children.

Vickie Turner said she has not forgiven Englert and will not pray for him, but will for a better life for his son.

“I’m not asking for your life. I’m not asking for retribution. I just want justice, and then I can have some peace and let her go,” Vickie Turner said, while trying to hold back tears.

Kassy’s letter

In an uncommon move, a victim advocate also read aloud a letter Booker wrote to her mother, Vickie Turner, after she had an aneurysm roughly five or six years ago.

“I can’t figure out how to express my emotions, other than to write, so I figured I’d write you and tell you what has been going on in my life,” she wrote.

Booker’s letter portrayed her struggles with addiction, relapse and finding help. She said she wasn’t happy with where she was, and that “deep inside” she knew she wanted to be sober, but struggled with the accessibility of drugs and inaccessibility of treatment.

“I put off the very things I seem to care about most and that’s my family, my mom and papa, my cousins, my brother, even my possessions I’ve worked hard to have, like my car, house I lost, phone and even relationships. I’ve numbed myself, but I can’t spend my life trying to cope with the world not being how I wish it was,” Booker wrote in her letter. “The world isn’t going to change for me, so I have to change for the world, and my family, so that I can have a family I’ve always wanted and have a love like you and papa’s.”

Booker’s letter also expressed hope for the future. She said she was glad for the love her mother had found with Chris Turner. She wrote that she recognized the missed opportunities, memories and time between her and her mother.

She thanked her mother for always being there for her, for telling her what she needed to hear, and for helping her when she had no one else.

“After this scare, it really made me realize how much I need my mom, how unprepared I am to live life without you, and how much left I have to say to you,” Booker’s letter read.

She was proud to be her mother’s daughter, and wrote that the older she got, the more she saw herself acting in similar ways.

“I’ve watched you have so many morals. I’ve shaped myself into the person I know you would want me to be. I don’t lie, I don’t steal, I don’t hold grudges and I accept the things I cannot change. I’m not perfect, and I know I’m not there yet, but I hope you can say that you’re proud to have me as a daughter. Looking back, I wish I would have taken all your advice, but I’m still young and have some learning to do,” Booker’s letter said. “I’m glad you’re doing okay, because without you, I’d be lost,” Booker wrote.

Multiple family members and friends of Booker’s who filled half the courtroom cried quietly in the benches as her letter was read aloud.

“I’m glad you pulled through, so that we can be even closer. You are one of my best friends. …. I love you more than I can ever put into words,” her letter ended.

Sentenced

Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Rob Olson said he was unable to sentence Englert outside the standard sentencing range for his crimes, which was between five years and seven months and seven years and five months.

Olson said no aggravating factors had been determined or pleaded to, which would have allowed him to go outside of that range. He explained that judges do not get to see all of the evidence or its shortcomings in a case, short of a trial happening, and must instead rely on the expertise of the attorneys. To disregard that and rule on his own limited knowledge of the case would be arrogant, he said.

Olson also said judges are allowed to throw out guilty pleas only in rare circumstances, and that Englert’s case did not meet the requirements. Because of those factors, Olson said he was bound by law to sentence Englert within the standard sentencing range for his crimes.

To not do so would put all justice in jeopardy, he said, and would be a knowing violation of the law and judicial conduct.

Olson said he understood it was not a happy resolution for any of the parties involved, including Booker’s family.

Olson said while he was unable to hear Englert express remorse personally, because he chose not to address the court, he did review the statements provided by Booker’s family and friends, including ones submitted to the court that were not read aloud at the sentencing hearing.

One such letter included a photograph of Booker, which Olson said was nice and allowed him to “put a face to the circumstances.”

Olson then held the black-and-white picture up, aiming it in Englert’s direction.

“Mr. Englert, this is the person whose death you caused,” Olson said, pausing for a moment. “It was selfish what you did on Feb. 8, 2022. Though it is apparent that you have struggled with substance abuse and may have been under the influence at the time, substance abuse does not excuse you. And while I have lived a life that tries to seek forgiveness for my own transgressions, I am certain that it will be very difficult for Kassy Booker’s friends and family to ever forgive you for the pain, suffering and death you have caused.”

Olson ultimately followed the agreed sentencing recommendation put forward by the attorneys, which was the maximum sentence allowed under the law.

Letting go

Booker’s family maintains the resolution was not justice.

“I’m heartbroken, but I’m loved. She was loved. It’s the beginning of the end for us, it’s the beginning for him,” Vickie Turner said, referring to Englert, in the courthouse after the hearing.

Booker’s family plans to take her ashes to her favorite places and “let her go” and “let the pain go.”

“She might have been a drug addict, but she was a beautiful person,” her mother said. “Even in her drug-induced (state), she was loved. She was loved, so loved, and missed. She is missed.”