Last week, a Washington State judge sentenced an admitted rapist to 34 months in prison forthe role he played in the overdose death of an 18-year-old womanearlier this year. But first, the judge took a moment to voice her frustrations with the state-mandated sentencing limits that restricted her from imposing a harsher sentence against 20-year-old Brian Varela.
Varela admitted sexually assaulting an unconscious Alyssa Noceda back on Feb. 3. He then sent partially-nude photos of her to a group text.
Varela boasted about having sex with the Mariner High School student to his co-workers at Dairy Queen, where he then worked a double shift before returning home to stuff her body into a crate with plans to bury it later.
“She died having sex with me,” Varela — who is from Lynnwood — told a co-worker at a local Dairy Queen, where he worked the next day after waking up in his bed alongside the victim’s lifeless body.
The overdose occurred hours after a party, which was held the previous evening.
Judge Linda Krese of Snohomish County Superior Court said in court she was “surprised, even outraged” that law required such a light sentence,according toThe Daily Herald.
Medical examiners determined Noceda died from ingesting a deadly combination of fentanyl and alprazolam, a generic name for Xanax.
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The Heraldreports Noceda’s aunt, Rachelle Palmer,was angry about the sentence.
“You might as well let him walk free with that kind of time,” Palmer said.
Judge Krese,according to KIRO-7, openly criticized the state’s sentencing guidelines, exclaiming, “I’m not sure the Legislature really contemplated something like this.”
The reports suggest Varela apologized for his “foolish actions,” telling the court, “Whatever I get is what I deserve.”
source: people.com
