Man who killed his parents near Buckley pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

A man accused of killing his parents at their Buckley-area home last year pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Friday.

That means 22-year-old Jared Standley could spend the rest of his life committed to Western State Hospital, the inpatient psychiatric facility in Lakewood.

Prosecutors charged him with aggravated first-degree murder last year for the deaths of 55-year-old Steven Standley and 56-year-old Theresa Standley.

The defendant’s uncle, Corey Campbell, told the court Friday that Steven and Theresa Standley were married for almost 27 years.

They were “amazing parents who deeply loved their boys,” he said.

Campbell also said they had tried to get Jared Standley help after he started experimenting with drugs but that nothing seemed to work for any length of time.

“They truly wanted you to be OK,” he told his nephew.

Defense attorney Ed DeCosta told the court that Standley has been doing well since he’s been on psychotropic medication.

The attorney said his client was very sick when he killed his parents March 14, 2018. Court records say he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“He was so sick at the time of these incidents that he couldn’t discern right from wrong,” DeCosta told the court.

Deputy prosecutor Lisa Wagner said the same.

Court records and investigators gave this account of what happened:

Jared Standley returned unexpectedly to the home about a week after he was told to leave. Steven Standley called another of his sons and told him to call 911 if he didn’t hear from him in 15 minutes.

When the other son didn’t hear back, he called for help.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home in the 2300 block of 162nd Street East and found Steven Standley with a gunshot wound to the head and Theresa Standley with wounds that suggested she’d been beaten to death.

Officers found Jared Standley in Thurston County, where he allegedly drove at a Thurston sheriff’s sergeant and was then shot in the shoulder.

When it was his turn to address the court Friday, Standley said simply: “I’m sorry.”

Superior Court Judge Kitty-Ann van Doorninck said she was pleased that he’s making progress and is compliant with his medication.

The judge said she could tell that the victims “really loved their son and wanted to help him.”

It’s horrible, van Doorninck said, to have that result in such tragedy.

This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Man who killed his parents near Buckley pleads not guilty by reason of insanity."