SPOKANE, Wash. — A man who has maintained his innocence for the past two years has been found guilty in the murder of a 15-year-old boy.
Preston Grzogorek was a freshman at University High School before he was shot to death outside an apartment in 2021. Stephen Yohler pulled the trigger, but isn't the only one awaiting sentencing.
"Funny, goofy, he just did teenage stuff," Preston's sister, Nicole, said. "You know, go around ding dong ditching, he's always dancing."
Nicole still remembers her brother that way two years after he was murdered.
"It was very emotional and it was very tough especially Preston being my only sibling," Nicole said.
Preston received a message over Snapchat in March 2021 from his friend, 17-year-old Daisy Redthunder. Court documents show she wanted to buy a vape pen and lured him out of a Spokane Valley apartment. Daisy wasn't there, but her boyfriend, Stephen Yohler, was and shot Preston to death.
Yohler and his girlfriend were arrested shortly after the murder. She pleaded guilty last May to rendering criminal assistance and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Yohler, 21, has maintained his innocence for years, even during a jailhouse interview with KREM.
"If there was surveillance video that showed me at the crime, they would have had me a lot sooner than a month and a half ago," Yohler told KREM 2.
Police said Yohler told his girlfriend he shot Preston six times and claimed the 15-year-old was going to kill him and had put money on his head.
"He just tried to justify the fact that he murdered a child," Nicole said. "That's sick to me."
Nicole sat through the trial and said Yohler lied repeatedly. His girlfriend testified against him.
"I feel like she did have some remorse considering Preston was her friend," Nicole said.
Jurors found Yohler guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder. It was a big relief for Preston's family.
"He deserves life," Nicole said. "Me and my family, we just want to thank the jurors, we didn't get a chance to thank them before they left the courthouse, we just want to say thank you."
Yohler is scheduled to be sentenced in December. His girlfriend remains in jail as well. Her sentencing is scheduled for February.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.