A Brush Prairie man who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murdering his father in 2011 will be resentenced for the crime, a Washington appeals court ruled Tuesday.
Troy Fisher was convicted April 30, 2013, of first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and an aggravating circumstance, which was lack of remorse. That aggravating circumstance allowed now-retired judge Barbara Johnson to sentence Fisher to more time than the state’s standard range of 25 years to nearly 32 years, with the firearm enhancement.
Fisher shot his father, Edward “Bud” Fisher, twice on Aug. 7, 2011, at their Brush Prairie home and then stole several thousand dollars from his bank accounts. He had been living with his father following a divorce and layoff.
Troy Fisher confessed to the shooting in a Sept. 19, 2011, recorded interview with Clark County sheriff’s detectives. He said he burned his father’s body in a trash pile in the yard. However, a forensic anthropologist testified during the trial that there was no sign of a body in the area where Fisher said the cremation took place. The body was never located.
Fisher also told detectives he disposed of bloodied carpet from the home. A detective found the carpet, and tests confirmed the blood belonged to Bud Fisher, according to a forensic scientist.
On appeal, Troy Fisher argued that his conviction and sentence should be thrown out. Fisher said the trial court erred by not allowing his standby counsel to take over the defense in his case.
Fisher had opted to serve as his own attorney during his bench trial, however, he changed his mind after the trial started. He then asked the trial court to allow his standby counsel, Bob Yoseph, to represent him. Yoseph had been advising Fisher only on technical matters, according to court records.
The trial court determined the request was untimely. Yoseph then moved for a mistrial, urging the trial court to rule that Fisher was both technically and mentally incapable to represent himself. The court denied the motion and required Fisher to proceed with his case, court documents said.
In response to Fisher’s argument, the appeals court ruled that Fisher had not established that reappointment of counsel was necessary, and therefore, the trial court didn’t err by denying his motion to reappoint standby counsel.
However, the appeals court agreed with Fisher’s argument that he did not act with an egregious lack of remorse, which was the aggravating circumstance.
The trial court had found that concealing his father’s body supported its conclusion that Fisher acted with a lack of remorse.
The appeals court argued that it’s not uncommon for “a culpable party to conceal evidence of guilt” and found the trial court erred by imposing the exceptional sentence. It ordered that Fisher be resentenced at a later date.
