Man gets multiple life sentences for Tacoma quadruple murder
TACOMA, Wash. - A man found guilty of shooting and killing four people in Tacoma back in October 2021 will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Back in March, a jury found Maleke Pate guilty of murdering 42-year-old Maria Nunez-lese, her son 19-year-old Emery Iese, Maria’s brother 22-year-old Raymond William and Raymond’s girlfriend, 22-year-old Natasha Brincefield.
The judge sentenced him to four life sentences-- one for each victim.
"I wake up every day and realize my daughter is not here," the mother of one of the victims told the court during sentencing.
"My sister did not pass, she was murdered in cold blood," Brincefield’s sister said to the court.
While loved ones of the victims told the court about their loss, it was disrupted by the man convicted of killing their loved ones. At one point, the court took a brief recess and when it came back, the judge ruled Pate would watch the remainder of the hearing via Zoom.
Seven family members addressed the court Friday.
"Seventeen years is not enough with your mom, your big brother," one family member said.
"My wife Maria, we met at 13, separated by death," Maria’s husband said emotionally.
"Did he look her in the eyes when he pulled that gun?" another loved asked the court.
Before the judge sentenced Pate, he addressed the court.
"You have no DNA of me, so how am I the one who committed this murder. There’s nothing that points to me," Pate told the court.
After a nearly three hour-long hearing and more than two years, the family of the victims heard the sentencing they’ve been waiting for.
"There are truly no words that I can use to describe the magnitude of grief and pain in this courtroom," the judge said.
Pate’s attorneys pleaded with the court to recognize that he does have a mental illness. A restitution hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2
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