Man sentenced to 30 years for killing his ex-girlfriend's brother with sword

KENT -- A 20-year-old Algona man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's apartment last year in Pacific and killing her 13-year-old brother with a samurai sword.

Brandon Suhr pleaded guilty in April to first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. Both charges included deadly weapon enhancements.

The sentence range for the crimes was 25 to 32 years in prison, and prosecutors had recommended 30 years.

In earlier court documents, police said Suhr had confessed to the killing in an interview with detectives after his arrest.  Police said Suhr told them he went over to the family's Pacific apartment on May 31, 2012, because he felt his girlfriend was "the one" and, after a breakup it was hard to live without "the one."

He said he entered a bedroom that he believed was his girlfriend's, but it turned out to be her 13-year-old brother in the bed instead.  He said that when the boy woke up, the boy began screaming and reached for a knife on his bed stand, and Suhr said he stabbed the boy in "self-defense," police said.

The man said his girlfriend came into the bedroom, saw the scene and began fighting with him.

Suhr then allegedly forced the girl to write a note claiming responsibility for the killing and took her to his parent's house in Algona, where he was later arrested.

The girl was unharmed.

According to court documents, the father of the girl woke up that night to find blood on the floor of the home and reported that his wife told him three Japanese samurai swords were missing. They later discovered their daughter was missing and that their dead son's body was in a bedroom closet.

Police said that after his arrest, Suhr wrote a letter of apology to his ex-girlfriend. The letter stated, "I am sorry for the pain I have caused you and your family. I hope in future years or lives that we can move forward in are (sic) union be as one. I have and always will love u."