Son pleads guilty in slaying of local couple

Vincent Wayne Housley ignored his attorney’s advice and pleaded guilty Monday during his arraignment in Seattle to charges of killing his parents in their Panther Lake home after an argument with them about his drug use.

Housley pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 1 slaying of his father and mother, Joe and Karen Housley, in their home in unincorporated Kent. Housley told police he was high on cocaine when he committed the act.

King County deputy prosecutor John Castleton recommended a prison sentence of 55 years for Housley, which would ensure a minimum 44 years in prison.

No sentencing date was set on Monday by court officials.

“I recommended to Mr. Housley our strong advice that he not enter this plea,” public defender Rick Lichtenstadter said in front of King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North. “I told him it would be appropriate to take time to see if there were any defenses for him.”

Housley, 43, also appeared in court, and gave several yes and no answers to questions from the prosecutor about the case as well as giving up certain rights such as the right to remain silent before a trial, the right to testify at a trial and the right to remain innocent until proven guilty.

Castleton asked Housley, “Is it true you thought about your acts before you murdered both parents?”

“Yes,” Housley replied.

Castleton then asked Housley if any part of him leaned toward being not guilty.

“No,” Housley said.

Castleton also asked Housley that even though he was high on cocaine during the killings, did he know what he was doing?

“Yes sir,” Housley said.

Judge North asked Housley to enter a plea in connection with the killing of Joe and Karen Housley.

“Guilty,” Housley said.

North said he found that Housley understood his plea and found him guilty as charged.

The bodies of Joe Housley, 66, and Karen Housley, 67, were found by their other son, Dennis Housley, on Feb. 4 inside their home in the 21200 block of 124th Avenue Southeast, just outside of the Kent city limits.

Dennis Housley, his wife Nancy Housley and a sister of Joe Housley’s were in court for the plea. Two television stations and two newspapers also covered the proceedings.

Lichtenstadter said Housley had wanted to plead guilty at his initial arraignment Feb. 18, but the attorney convinced him to wait and got a judge to delay an arraignment until Monday.

“He (Vincent Housley) said it was important for the family to get it resolved and for him to take responsibility at the first opportunity,” Lichtenstadter said in court before the guilty plea.

After the court proceeding, Lichtenstadter further discussed the plea in front of reporters. He said he talked to Vincent Housley about four times since his arrest by King County Sheriff’s Office detectives.

“He expressed a great deal of remorse and said if he could take it back, he would,” Lichtenstadter said. “But he believed (pleading guilty) was the right thing to do.”

Defendants typically plead not guilty at an arraignment.

“It’s extremely unusual at this point to plead guilty,” Lichtenstadter said.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg issued a statement Monday on the guilty plea through a media release.

“This was an incomprehensible crime committed with extreme violence by a son against his parents,” said Satterberg. “Karen and Joe Housley were on the verge of retirement, and were beloved members of the community. This plea will not ease the pain of their surviving family and friends, but it will bring quick finality to the case, and deliver what will effectively be a life sentence to Vincent Housely.”

The Housley family met with Satterberg to discuss the case and were consulted prior to the plea.

“This case was solved due to the outstanding work of the King County Sheriff’s Office and the detectives of the major crimes unit,” Satterberg said. “They quickly connected the defendant to the brutal murders and obtained an extensive confession from him. Their work proved invaluable in holding the defendant accountable for his actions.”

Friends and family of Joe and Karen Housley held a funeral procession of classic cars on Feb. 19 in Kent to honor the couple. The couple regularly attended classic car shows in Covington, Auburn and other locations.

According to charging papeers, detectives arrested Vincent Housley Feb. 5 at a Tukwila motel in connection with the deaths of the Panther Lake couple.

Vincent Housley, who lived with his parents, told detectives that he beat and stabbed his mother and father during an argument with them over his drug use, according to charging papers.

The son also told police he ransacked the home of his parents on Feb. 2 for valuables to sell for drugs. He also took two of their cars. He sold his mother’s 2006 Buick Lacrosse for one ounce of rock cocaine.

Detectives tracked down Vincent Housley after his former wife told them that she had received a recent message on her cell phone about an item Vincent had left at a library at South 144th Street and 42nd Avenue South in Tukwila.

Detectives know the area near the library often is used for dealing drugs, so they began to search that neighborhood. Detectives then spotted a 1988 Buick Regal, owned by Joe Housley, at a Tukwila motel in the 3700 block of South 146th Street.

Detectives found Vincent Housley at one of the motel rooms. He had used his father’s credit card to pay for the room. The son agreed to talk to detectives at a nearby police station about the death of his parents.

Dennis Housley, who lives in Oregon, had asked deputies to check on his parents Feb. 4. He had become concerned after he was unable to reach his parents for several days. The deputies found the house locked with no sign of forced entry. Dennis and Nancy Housley arrived at the house later on Feb. 4 and found the bodies inside.