SEATTLE – Joseph McEnroe was sentenced to life in prison for his role without the possibility of parole in the murders of a family of six on Christmas Eve 2007.
McEnroe was convicted of killing his then-girlfriend's family in Carnation, having shot them all in the head.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
The defense maintained that McEnroe is mentally ill and was the pawn of his abusive and controlling girlfriend, Michele Anderson. They say Anderson was the mastermind in the murders of her parents Wayne and Judy Anderson; brother Scott; sister-in-law Erica; 5-year-old niece Olivia and 3-year-old nephew Nathan.
A recording of Anderson admitting to the killings was played during McEnroe's trial. Anderson's own trial is set to begin later this year.
