Two sentenced in Totten death

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published July 23, 2008

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A Thurston County judge has sentenced Christopher Olsen to more than 41 years in prison and Michael Sublett to life in prison with no possibility of parole for Jerry Totten's murder at his I Street home in Tumwater in January 2007. – A Thurston County judge has sentenced Christopher Olsen to more than 41 years in prison and Michael Sublett to life in prison with no possibility of parole for Jerry Totten's murder at his I Street home in Tumwater in January 2007.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy handed down the sentences for Olsen, 27, and Sublett, 48, during a court hearing Wednesday morning. Each was earlier convicted of first-degree murder in connection with Totten's strangulation death.

Sublett's sentence was the result of Pomeroy deeming him a "persistent offender" because of two prior second-degree robbery convictions in California.

A third defendant charged in connection with the case, April Frazier, 28, has yet to be sentenced in connection with the case. Frazier earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges in connection with the homicide and testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal in Olsen and Sublett's joined murder trial that ended in June.

As part of Frazier's plea deal, in exchange for her truthful testimony during the murder trial, prosecutors will recommend that she receive a prison sentence of four years and five months.

Frazier met Totten in Alcoholics Anonymous. At the time of Totten's death, Totten was letting Frazier stay in a trailer in the yard of his home, and he helped her with expenses, Totten's sister, Shirley Inman, has said.

For more information on this story, read Thursday's edition of The Olympian.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety issues for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.