Spokane woman sentenced for role in attempted murder

EPHRATA — A Spokane woman will be serving eight years in prison for her role in the attempted murder of a Moses Lake man in mid-may.

Judy Kirchoff, 25, of Spokane, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to first-degree kidnapping. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McCrea and defense attorney Michael Morgan and sentenced Kirchoff to 98 months in prison, with 36 months of community custody. Kirchoff was initially charged with first-degree robbery, but the charge was dropped in a plea agreement between McCrea and Morgan.

Kirchoff is one of three people who are accused of tying up a man in Moses Lake on May 11. Travis Franklin, 26, of Moses Lake, remains charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of first-degree assault in Grant County Superior Court. Christiann Artz, 38, of Moses Lake, is currently charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree kidnapping.

A couple of days before the attempted murder Kirchoff, whom the victim believed to be his girlfriend, reportedly brought a man over to the victim’s residence. Kirchoff and the other person reportedly stole the victim’s phone, with Kirchoff telling the man, “the phones were taken so he couldn’t call for help.”

On the night of the assault five different individuals came over to the victim’s Third Avenue apartment, with Franklin, Kirchoff and Artz staying at the apartment when the two other individuals left. They reportedly tied up the victim with duct tape and rope. The victim stated the three suspects were mad at him for “helping a girl get high” and they were there to “make him pay.”

Franklin injected the man in the neck with an unknown drug after his hands and feet were bound. The victim was reportedly in a drug-induced state when Franklin, Kirchoff and Artz went through his belongings and packed some of his items into two of his backpacks. The three suspects left the room, but returned a short time later and collected some pills that were found in the apartment.

“They ordered him to take all of the pills and gave him a Coke to wash them down. I found the partially consumed Coke and three empty pill bottles scattered about the residence. (The victim) stated they made him write out a suicide note and they explained they were going to make his death appear to be an overdose,” wrote a officer. “During my warrant execution I found a suicide-like note. (The victim) stated he had to write it and read it back to them to ensure it said what they wanted.”

The victim claims that Franklin attempted to forcibly inject him in the throat with an unspecified substance, but said he injected the substance “too deeply” and it went through an artery, causing him to lose consciousness. When the victim woke up Franklin allegedly attempted to force his face into a bed and cut his throat. He said he was able to get out from under Franklin, push him down and hit him in the mouth.

The victim claims to have lost consciousness again and woke up to find Franklin, Artz and Kimberly Halstead, 22, of Moses Lake, in his room, with Halstead allegedly attempting to clean blood off the walls of the apartment. Kirchoff, Artz and Halstead were located and arrested by police a short time after the incident. Franklin was arrested about a week later in Ephrata.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.