Dennis Wolter made no apology Monday for the brutal stabbing of his estranged girlfriend, Kori Fredericksen, in May 2011 in Vancouver’s Lincoln neighborhood.
Instead, as custody officers escorted him in shackles into Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis’ courtroom to be sentenced, he winked at Stephanie Dedmore, Fredericksen’s friend, Dedmore said.
When the judge asked him if he’d like to speak before sentencing, Wolter replied, “No.”
The lack of an apology elicited cries of disgust from Fredericksen’s family and friends, seated in two rows in the courtroom’s public gallery.
“It shows he has no remorse whatsoever, no regrets, no ‘I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t do this,’ ” said Fredericksen’s younger sister, Tammi Murphy of Vancouver.
Lewis sentenced Wolter, 46, to life in prison without the possibility of release after a jury convicted him of aggravated first-degree murder.
Fredericksen’s older sister, Karla Bridger, of Pierre, S.D., said in a written statement read aloud in court that Wolter’s life sentence “is the only justice and peace we will ever know, hoping that every day is as miserable for him as it is for us.”
The sisters said Fredericksen’s murder haunts even the most ubiquitous parts of life, including slicing vegetables with a kitchen knife or driving the route Wolter took to dump the victim’s body.
Wolter stabbed Fredericksen more than 70 times with kitchen knives on May 25, 2011, at his home, 1205 W. 39th St., where the couple had lived together.
“When I have to use a (kitchen) knife, I think of what he did to her and how,” Bridger said.
Murphy wore a bright pink T-shirt decorated with Fredericksen’s photograph and the words “In memory of Kori Sue Fredericksen.”
Murphy said Fredericksen was an outgoing, happy, caring sister, friend, mother and daughter. She left behind three children, ages 23, 16 and 10.
“I feel guilty that I’m enjoying things while my sister is lying lifeless in a cold casket,” Murphy told the judge. “… I’m not the one who murdered her, yet I feel guilty enjoying (my life).”
State sentencing guidelines require a life sentence or the death penalty for anyone convicted of aggravated first-degree murder, the state’s only capital crime. Prosecutors didn’t seek the death penalty because Wolter has a brain injury. Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said the brain damage likely would have prompted appellate courts to overturn a capital punishment sentence.
Wolter’s attorney, Therese Lavallee, argued throughout the nearly four-week trial that Wolter’s brain damage had diminished his capacity to form intent. To convict of aggravated first-degree murder, a jury must determine that the defendant premeditated the crime.
The jury deliberated for about four hours before rejecting that defense and convicting Wolter June 13 on all charges, including aggravated first-degree murder and tampering with a witness, Dannielle Williams, to whom he confessed the crime.
Lewis said Wolter deserved his punishment.
Wolter was caught early May 26, 2011, after he dumped Fredericksen’s body down a ravine on East Evergreen Highway, when a Camas police officer pulled him over for speeding. The officer found Wolter covered in Fredericksen’s blood.
“Had you not been speeding … it’s hard to say how far you’d have gone,” Lewis told Wolter.
Paris Achen: 360-735-4551; http://twitter.com/Col_Courts; http://facebook.com/ColTrends; paris.achen@columbian.com.
