Lundy pleads guilty to manslaughter in her mother’s grisly 2019 death
Amara J. Lundy, 24, has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter domestic violence in the grisly death of her mother, Susan Lundy, last year, and she is scheduled to be sentenced in late September.
Susan Lundy was reported missing July 6, 2019. According to court documents, her daughter confessed to police Aug. 12 that she strangled Lundy with a section of cord she purchased.
In an interview with a detective, Amara Lundy allegedly said she later dismembered her mother’s body and that she and Ryan Parker got a shopping cart from a local grocery store and disposed of the body at dumpsters and trash cans around Olympia.
A prosecutor’s statement of probable cause describes Parker as Lundy’s boyfriend; however, a 60-page report on Lundy’s life filed in court suggests their relationship was more complex than that label implies.
Prosecutors originally charged Lundy with first-degree murder in the case. Parker, 31, was also arrested and charged with rendering criminal assistance in the first degree. Both Lundy and Parker originally pleaded not guilty. A judge set Parker’s bail at $100,000, while Lundy was held without bail.
In July, court records show that Parker’s conditions of release were modified and he was made eligible for electronic monitoring. However, it appeared he was still in custody as of Thursday, according to Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady.
Court records show Lundy was temporarily released to the custody of Olympia Police officers for a few hours on furlough Aug. 6 “to address issues relevant to the resolution” of her case, and that she pleaded guilty Aug. 7.
Under the plea agreement, Lundy is obligated to provide “complete and truthful information at all times” about the events surrounding her mother’s death and the disposal of her body, to provide at least one “full and truthful” recorded interview to law enforcement and prosecutors about the killing, and provide information about her participation and the participation of any other person, including Parker.
It also includes that Lundy will testify truthfully if she’s called to do so as a witness at Parker’s trial or the trials of any other potential defendants.
She has no known prior criminal convictions, making the standard sentencing range for manslaughter 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 years, followed by three years in community custody. The maximum penalties are a $50,000 fine and life imprisonment, according to court records.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed to recommend the high end of the standard range: 8 1/2 years in prison and three years in community custody, court records show.
The 60-page mitigation report, filed Aug. 18, was compiled by Brenda Big Eagle, who owns Big Eagle Investigation/Mitigation and provides services to Thurston County Public Defense. It was based on multiple interviews with Lundy and people who know her along with school and medical records, according to the report.
The report paints an in-depth picture of Lundy’s upbringing, education, medical history, mental health, adult years, and relationships — including her complex relationships with her mother and Ryan Parker.
It also includes a photocopy of a letter from Dan Lundy, Amara Lundy’s grandfather, addressed to one of her defense attorneys. In the letter, Lundy writes that the family does not believe the story Amara Lundy gave in her confession, and is convinced “her participation in the homicide was controlled by her manipulative boyfriend, made possible by her autistic vulnerability.”
Lundy’s sentencing is scheduled to take place Sept. 28.
In Parker’s case, a jury trial is currently scheduled to begin in late September, but court dates are subject to change.
This story was originally published August 29, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
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