Killer of Pacific teen sentenced to 30 years in prison

Published 1:16 pm Monday, August 12, 2013

A King County Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced 20-year-old Brandon Suhr of Algona to 30 years in prison for killing his former girlfriend’s little brother with a sword on June 1, 2012.

Suhr pleaded guilty April 29, 2013 to the first-degree murder of Walter Denesha, 13, of Pacific and to first-degree burglary

According to court records, Suhr, furious that Denesha’s 16-year-old sister had ended her relationship with him months before, broke into the family’s apartment at Cobble Court Apartments in Pacific, stabbed the boy to death with a Samurai sword, stuffed his body into a hall closet and forced the older sister to write a note claiming responsibility for the death.

According to court records, after the murder, Suhr subdued his ex-girlfriend by choking her, then forced her to go to the home where he lived with his mother. Police arrested him there shortly afterward.

Denesha’s family spoke in court.

“There’s just many memories that we’re not going to be able to make with him, and I can’t hug a memory, and I can’t tell a memory that I love him either,” said Walter Denesha’s mother, Janine Denesha.

“He was only 13 years old,” said Denesha’s father, Kevin Denesha. “He didn’t pose a threat to no one. I think the best thing for everybody is he (Suhr) never gets out of jail. He took something very precious from a lot of people, not just us.”

Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year prison sentence.