Olympia mother sentenced to over 18 years in prison for murdering her 3-year-old child
A judge has sentenced an Olympia mother to over 18 years in prison for murdering her 3-year-old child in 2022.
Sarah Lynn Morrill, 43, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Thurston County Superior Court on Jan. 3, 2024, according to court records. Her sentencing was delayed until she was deemed competent enough to continue with proceedings. She was sentenced Dec. 18.
Judge Allyson Zipp sentenced Morrill to 220 months in prison and 36 months of community custody. Zipp’s decision brought an end to a case that was first filed on Feb. 24, 2022. Back then, Morrill had been accused of assaulting and mistreating her child as well as tampering with a witness.
Police found the unresponsive child at a shelter in downtown Olympia while responding to a 911 call. First responders transported the child to Providence St. Peter Hospital to be stabilized and then to Seattle Children’s Hospital where he subsequently died.
Anthony Nicholas Chernysheff, the child’s father, was also arrested around the same time as Morrill. He has since been charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment and homicide by abuse in connection with the child’s death.
Chernysheff’s case is still making its way through the court system. A jury trial for him has been scheduled for Feb. 3, according to the latest court records.
Olivia Zhou, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney, asked the court to sentence Morrill to 220 months in prison, which is the higher end of standard range for the offense. In a sentencing memorandum, Zhou called this length of time appropriate.
“The defendant abused A.N.C. over the course of several months that constituted child torture,” Zhou wrote.
The day the child became unresponsive, first responders noticed suspicious bruises on his body and he appeared extremely pale and thin, according to court records.
An autopsy revealed the child suffered blunt force trauma to the left and right side of his brain. The damage caused a brain bleed that led to the child suffering a stroke and dying of his injuries, court records say.
When the child arrived at Seattle Children’s Hospital, he weighed about 24 pounds – 11 pounds less than he did during a November 2021 doctor’s visit. A doctor told investigators that the child appeared severely malnourished and dehydrated.
The child’s older sister reportedly saw her brother after he became unresponsive and described his mistreatment to investigators. Zhou wrote the sister will be “forever traumatized by these observations and memories…”
In addition to the prison term, Zipp ordered Morrill to have no contact with minors that are not her children unless she is supervised by an adult who’s familiar with her conviction. She also barred Morrill from contacting her remaining biological children.
Michele Michalek, Morrill’s attorney, asked the court to sentence Morrill to 123 months, which is the lower end of the standard range, according to court records.
“A sentence of 123 months is sufficient punishment for a crime she was incapable of even comprehending until very recently,” Michalek wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Michalek said Morrill has struggled with drug use, domestic violence and depression in her life. Michalek added Chernysheff had been abusive and controlling toward her, and their family lived in poverty.
While in custody, Michalek said Morrill experienced audio hallucinations in her cell and believed her kids were next door with her father.
Notably, Morrill was pregnant at the time she was booked into jail, Michalek said in the memorandum. Her fifth child was born while she was incarcerated and immediately taken from her.
“Sarah has been reduced to a shell of a person and will need much help becoming whole again,” Michalek wrote. “As she begins to think more clearly, her actions have begun haunting her. She loved her children and loved being a family.”
A sentence of over 18 years also carries some symbolic meaning, Zhou said in her memorandum.
“Eighteen years would have been the age that A.N.C. would have needed to be to be considered an adult and would have been able to remove himself from the environment to which the defendant subjected him,” Zhou wrote. “A.N.C. will never have that opportunity now because of the defendant’s actions.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 1:50 PM.
