OKANOGAN – All four defendants in the Michelle Kitterman murder case will appear in court for another hearing today.
On Thursday, June 25 at 8:30 a.m. in the Okanogan County Superior Court Courtroom, Lacey Hirst-Pavek will appear for an evidentiary hearing. Hirst-Pavek is being charged with First Degree Murder and First Degree Manslaughter.
Prosecuting attorney Jennifer Richardson said Hirst-Pavek’s jury trial date has been extended to Tuesday, Nov. 17. On Thursday, April 2, the accused was released on $250,000 bail after being arrested on Tuesday, March 31.
Tansy Fae Arwen Mathis, Brent L. Phillips and David Eugene Richards, the other three defendants, will begin appearing in the Okanogan County Jail In-Custody Courtroom at 1:30 p.m. June 25 for review hearings. Each is being charged with Aggravated First Degree Murder, Aggravated First Degree Manslaughter and First Degree Kidnapping. Mathis and Phillips are also being charged with First Degree Tampering with Physical Evidence. They are all being held in Okanogan Jail on $1 million bail and their jury trials have been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22.
According to court documents, Kitterman was having an affair with Hirst-Pavek’s husband, Daniel Pavek, and was pregnant with his child. Hirst-Pavek allegedly made comments that she wanted Kitterman “taken care of.”
Through the investigation, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Department determined that Hirst-Pavek eventually made contact with Mathis referencing Kitterman and over several meetings, in Okanogan County and Spokane, they came to an agreement for Mathis to take care of Kitterman for $500.
On Sunday, March 1, the body of Kitterman was found in the driveway of 193 Stalder Road in Tonasket. According to court documents the autopsy’s preliminary results indicated the cause of death was homicidal violence and that Kitterman was about 11 weeks pregnant.
Mathis was arrested in Spokane after midnight on Thursday, March 26. Phillips was arrested in Seattle around 10 p.m. on March 26. Richards turned himself in to the Spokane Police Department on Sunday, April 5 after a warrant for his arrest was issued on March 31.
All four defendants have pled not guilty to all charges.
