Brenda Nicholas

Overview

Brenda Nicholas was sentenced to 34 years in prison for the robbery and stabbing death of Francis Patrick Fleming, 70, in December 2011 in Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood.

Timeline

• December 2011 — Francis Patrick Fleming was robbed and stabbed to death at the Four Freedoms senior apartments in Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood.
• December 8, 2011 — Fleming was found dead after being attacked at the Four Freedoms House; officers arrived shortly after 9 p.m.
• March (year not stated) — A jury convicted Nicholas of first-degree murder.
• April (year not stated) — A jury convicted Nicholas of Murder First Degree with a deadly weapon enhancement as charged.
• August 9, 2013 — Nicholas was sentenced to 34 years in prison.
• May (year not stated) — Co-defendant Charles Jungbluth was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his part in the murder.

The offence

Brenda Nicholas was sentenced for the robbery and stabbing death of Francis Patrick Fleming, 70, in December 2011 in Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood.

Nicholas was convicted of Murder First Degree with a deadly weapon enhancement as charged. The sentencing range was 26 to 34 years in prison, and the range included several unrelated thefts committed by the defendant.

Prosecutors presented a motive of greed. The motive behind the murder was described as “solely greed,” and Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carla Carlstrom told the sentencing judge that Nicholas plotted to kill Fleming for months in order to get his hands on his valuable coin and uncut bill collection.

Nicholas attempted to kill and rob another elderly man on the same day Fleming was killed.

Investigation

Detective Cloyd Steiger testified that when police arrived at Fleming’s apartment shortly after 9 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2011, Fleming had nearly been decapitated and was left on the floor of his apartment to die. Fleming was also stabbed several times in the body, consistent with having been tortured prior to death.

Investigators learned Fleming was an avid coin collector and had amassed a collection of valuable gold and silver coins. Much of that collection was missing, and Fleming’s briefcase was also missing.

Police learned Fleming’s friends had recently been scammed by a psychic she’d met at a street fair, and that woman pointed police to Nicholas.

Kirkland police officers investigating thefts attributed to the group searched a home where Charles Jungbluth and Gilda Ramirez were living and found a leather briefcase with papers belonging to Fleming.

Arrest and pre-trial

Charles Jungbluth was arrested after being charged in thefts targeting the elderly, and investigators said he was confronted with DNA evidence recovered at the slaying scene, after which Jungbluth admitted to the murder. Gilda Ramirez was arrested days later.

Before trial for Fleming’s murder, Nicholas pleaded guilty to first-degree identity theft and two counts of first-degree theft in a plea deal to resolve other criminal counts against her. She also faced additional theft charges, including more than 50 criminal counts related to bilking a woman in her 80s out of $1 million, and stealing from at least three landlords she rented properties from.

The case described that Nicholas had a long criminal history including 50 counts of first-degree theft.

Trial

During trial, Nicholas tried to pin Fleming’s murder on her boyfriend, but prosecutors said she also claimed her upbringing, Romani background, and hard life was to blame for her slew of crimes.

At sentencing, several victims of Nicholas addressed the judge.

Rosemary Garnett, a close friend of Fleming who found his body and called police, was quoted speaking after hearing on the not guilty pleas in King County Superior Court. She said:

“Patrick was a wonderful, generous man,” Garnett said. “And he would have given this man money had he known he wanted it or needed it. He didn't have to kill him for it.” She also said: “I still have flashbacks to the scene of finding Patrick's body,” she said. “My priest is helping me tremendously with that in grief therapy, so I will get through it.”

Detective Cloyd Steiger also addressed aspects of the attack as recounted in court.

Sentencing

On August 9, 2013, Brenda Nicholas was sentenced to 34 years in prison.

A King County Superior Court judge called Brenda Nicholas a “danger to society,” sentencing her to 34 years in prison.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carla Carlstrom told the judge that the motive was “solely greed.”

Nicholas was sentenced in Superior Court by Judge Theresa Doyle.

Sentencing remarks and quoted statements

Carlstrom told Judge Theresa Doyle during Nicholas’ sentencing hearing:

“The motive behind this murder was solely greed.” Carlstrom also told the judge: “She was the mastermind behind murdering 70-year-old Francis Fleming in order to steal from him,” said Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carla Carlstrom in King County court on Thursday.

Defense attorney Jonathan Newcomb blamed Nicholas’ upbringing and said:

“a product of her environment” who was “frankly, raised to steal, taught to steal.” He also said Nicholas was a mother of two teenage sons and that she had been disowned by her extended family since the jury handed down its guilty verdict.

Nicholas told the judge:

“The boys are waiting for me, your honor” During remarks, Judge Theresa Doyle indicated she believed it was appropriate that Nicholas would not be released until her 70s, describing: “basically a life sentence,” she said.

The judge said:

“I think Ms. Nicholas is a danger to society,” and she described: “the heartlessness, the coldbloodedness, and the inhumanity” of Fleming’s murder was both striking and disturbing.

The judge also said that Nicholas “basically ruined” the life of Sylvia Sutton, the woman Nicholas befriended and manipulated into draining her life’s savings.

Sentence range and related thefts

The sentence range was 26 to 34 years in prison. The range included several unrelated thefts committed by the defendant.

Prosecutors recommended a 34-year sentence.

Co-defendants

Charles Jungbluth

Co-defendant Charles Jungbluth pleaded guilty to Murder First Degree with a deadly weapon enhancement. He was sentenced in May to 21 years in prison for his part in the murder.

Gilda Ramirez

Gilda Ramirez pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary, and trafficking in stolen property and was sentenced to a little more than six years in prison.

The case description stated that Ramirez hid in the bathroom while Nicholas and Jungbluth stabbed Fleming to death with a set of kitchen knives, and Ramirez pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary and trafficking in stolen property and was also described as facing additional theft charges.

Other victims and related theft conduct

Nicholas had been charged with more than 50 criminal counts of theft and related conduct.

Prosecutors described that most counts involved bilking a woman in her 80s out of $1 million. Prosecutors also said Nicholas stole from at least three landlords she rented properties from.

Nicholas had been working as a psychic at a street fair in Seattle’s International District in summer 2007 when Sylvia Sutton came into her booth to have her palm read. The account stated that Nicholas convinced Sutton she had a “gray aura” about her and offered to help, then told Sutton it would cost her. Over the next several years, Sutton made frequent cash withdrawals at Nicholas’ request.

The description stated that once Sutton became completely dependent on her, Nicholas moved Sutton to and from various residences, never allowing her to stay at any one place for more than a few months at a time. The Four Freedoms House was one of the residences.

Sutton met Fleming after moving into the apartment building in spring 2011 and introduced Nicholas to him. Fleming introduced Nicholas to where he kept his coin collection.

After the murder occurred, it was described that Nicholas quickly moved Sutton out of Four Freedoms to distance herself from Fleming’s apartment building.

The account described that Charles Jungbluth, Ramirez, and Nicholas went to Fleming’s apartment armed with large kitchen knives planning to kill him and take his coins. It described that when Fleming opened the door, they pushed their way in, and then “He and (Nicholas) both stuck their knives into Fleming’s throat, and were cutting him until he stopped moving,” according to Detective Cloyd Steiger’s account of Jungbluth’s statement to police. After the attack, the robbers loaded Fleming’s coins into two duffels and fled the apartment.

Disposition and aftermath

Nicholas’ sentence was imposed after the jury conviction in April and included credit for multiple theft-related convictions.

Several victims addressed the judge on sentencing day, including people who described financial devastation and psychological havoc arising from their association with Nicholas.

Co-defendant Ramirez and co-defendant Jungbluth received separate sentences for their involvement in the murder and related crimes.