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Saturday, November 8, 2003

By LARRY LANGE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

KENT -- A one-time leader in domestic violence issues was sentenced yesterday to 23 years in prison for fatally shooting a young woman during a custody battle a year ago.

King County Superior Court Judge Ronald Kessler imposed the sentence on Lorraine Netherton, 40, of Federal Way.

She was convicted in July of murdering 23-year-old Desiere Rants in Ravensdale on Nov. 22.

The shooting occurred during a chase last year in which Netherton was trying to help another woman in a child-custody dispute. Rants, prosecutors said, stepped between Netherton and Rants' brother, and Netherton shot her dead.

Kessler's sentence, handed down at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, didn't satisfy all factions involved in Netherton's case, and appeals are expected. During the 45-minute hearing, Kessler heard competing pleas for leniency and long sentences for Netherton.

Paul Kelley told Kessler that Netherton had helped take him into her home 30 years ago and had remained supportive of him, as she had with others over the years.

"I do not believe she wanted to kill Desiere," Kelley said, weeping as he spoke.

Netherton's attorneys asked Kessler to impose a 10-year sentence, based on their contention that Netherton was defending herself from a physical attack by Rants before Netherton shot her.

They said Rants hit Netherton several times, provoking Netherton to use the gun.

They also asked Kessler to order a new trial, saying the jurors may have been improperly influenced against Netherton when they learned that prosecutors had initially charged her with a drive-by shooting in addition to murder.

But Rants' parents pressed Kessler to approve a 30-year sentence recommended by prosecutors, who described Netherton as a self-absorbed, remorseless killer.

Rants' mother, Joylene Miller-Wagner, recounted the painful memories of her daughter's death, the sleepless nights she has had since the shooting and the pain her murder has brought the family.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her and wonder why," said Miller-Wagner, standing teary-eyed next to Curtis Rants, Desiere's father. Her voice broke several times.

Prosecutors said Netherton was carrying two pistols the night she pursued William Rants to Ravensdale, where his sister intervened and the fatal shots were fired.

Deputy prosecutor Nelson Lee said Netherton didn't help Rants as she lay bleeding in the alley, and during a 911 call was more concerned about her own well-being than about Rants' condition. "She still blames the victim," Lee said.

In the end Kessler rejected the 30-year sentence, saying he thought Netherton did feel remorse. But he imposed 23 years after saying that "at the minimum Ms. Netherton was fascinated by guns and that fascination with guns and her need to be a heroine resulted in the death of a totally innocent person."

He also rejected the request for a new trial, noting that the drive-by charge was dropped before Netherton's trial.

Donna Johnston, one of Netherton's attorneys, said an appeal is likely.

Netherton, who said she had been the victim of domestic violence, once led the Federal Way Domestic Violence Task Force. Task force members voted last year to oust her from the organization, however, expressing concerns about "her violent temper and her penchant for carrying handguns," prosecutors wrote in court documents.

Netherton, who was visibly shaking during the hearing, recounted the times she had helped people during her life and said she "told the truth before God" during her trial.

Prosecutors were content with the sentence.

But Rants' parents argued the sentence wasn't long enough. "She took Desiere's life," Curtis Rants said, "and I think she ought to spend the rest of her life in prison." Netherton's ex-husband, Rich Laxton, however, said the sentence is far too long for her. He plans to file complaints against the prosecutors for "malicious prosecution."

"There's no question she was in a fight," Laxton said.

P-I reporter Larry Lange can be reached at 206-448-8313 or larrylange@seattlepi.com

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