A Shawnee woman was sentenced Thursday to spend 15 years in the Department of Corrections for the Dec. 21 stabbing death of her friend.
Anita Louise Washington, 41, was charged with first degree murder in Pottawatomie County District Court Dec. 28 for the death of Yvette M. Kaulaity, 47, of Tulsa.
Washington was set for trial in the case this week, but was sentenced after pleading guilty last week to an amended charge of manslaughter, first-degree.
The 15-year term included time calculated for one previous felony conviction allowed on the record. In the manslaughter count, she is accused causing and effecting Kaulaity’s death, without a premeditated design, by stabbing her with a knife, court records show.
The stabbing occurred Dec. 21 at 415 N. Tenbrook, where Washington resided in a back room. A preliminary hearing was held April 15, where the owner of the home, Randy Hopkins, 55, testified about hearing a “heated exchange” between the two women after Kaulaity arrived at the residence about 3 a.m. He later testified Kaulaity’s voice seemed more assertive in the verbal exchange. Hopkins testified there was a scuffle, then he heard a crash in Washington’s room.
Police and paramedics responded about 5:44 a.m. after receiving a call about an assault victim who wasn’t breathing. Kaulaity was taken to Unity Health Center, where she died. Cause of death was determined as stabbing with a knife.
Since the beginning of the investigation, police didn’t speculate on a motive for the killing, but said the women met each other while they had been previously incarcerated in a state prison.
Washington has previous felony convictions in Pottawatomie County, including robbery by force in 1992, along with burglary of an automobile and assault and battery on a police officer in 2001, DOC records show.
Kaulaity had served time for convictions in Tulsa and Creek counties for driving under the influence and possession of controlled substance, according to DOC records.
In addition to the sentence, Washington was ordered to pay a $250 fine, a $500 Victim’s Compensation Assessment and court costs. Washington will remain jailed at the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center until her transfer to a Department of Corrections facility.
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Kim Morava may be reached at 214-3962 or kimberly.morava@news-star.com.
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A Shawnee woman was sentenced Thursday to spend 15 years in the Department of Corrections for the Dec. 21 stabbing death of her friend.
Anita Louise Washington, 41, was charged with first degree murder in Pottawatomie County District Court Dec. 28 for the death of Yvette M. Kaulaity, 47, of Tulsa.
Washington was set for trial in the case this week, but was sentenced after pleading guilty last week to an amended charge of manslaughter, first-degree.
The 15-year term included time calculated for one previous felony conviction allowed on the record. In the manslaughter count, she is accused causing and effecting Kaulaity’s death, without a premeditated design, by stabbing her with a knife, court records show.
The stabbing occurred Dec. 21 at 415 N. Tenbrook, where Washington resided in a back room. A preliminary hearing was held April 15, where the owner of the home, Randy Hopkins, 55, testified about hearing a “heated exchange” between the two women after Kaulaity arrived at the residence about 3 a.m. He later testified Kaulaity’s voice seemed more assertive in the verbal exchange. Hopkins testified there was a scuffle, then he heard a crash in Washington’s room.
Police and paramedics responded about 5:44 a.m. after receiving a call about an assault victim who wasn’t breathing. Kaulaity was taken to Unity Health Center, where she died. Cause of death was determined as stabbing with a knife.
Since the beginning of the investigation, police didn’t speculate on a motive for the killing, but said the women met each other while they had been previously incarcerated in a state prison.
Washington has previous felony convictions in Pottawatomie County, including robbery by force in 1992, along with burglary of an automobile and assault and battery on a police officer in 2001, DOC records show.
Kaulaity had served time for convictions in Tulsa and Creek counties for driving under the influence and possession of controlled substance, according to DOC records.
In addition to the sentence, Washington was ordered to pay a $250 fine, a $500 Victim’s Compensation Assessment and court costs. Washington will remain jailed at the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center until her transfer to a Department of Corrections facility.
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Kim Morava may be reached at 214-3962 or kimberly.morava@news-star.com.
