Man sentenced for stepfather’s killing in Eatonville endured years of abuse, defense says
A 44-year-old man who previously pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his 72-year-old stepfather last year at a property in Eatonville has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
In a memorandum describing mitigating factors meant to be taken into consideration for sentencing, the victim’s partner described how she and her son, Ryan Harris, experienced years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of Mark Pray.
Harris shot Pray twice during an argument in a wood shop on the family’s property, then hid his body about 100 feet away, according to court documents. The defendant told investigators Pray accused him of stealing beer, then threw a hammer at him, grazing his face with the handle. Harris then went inside a house on the property, took his stepfather’s handgun and shot him.
Harris was sentenced Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court for second-degree murder. Superior Judge Jennifer Andrews ordered him to spend 12 years, 2 months in prison for the April 15, 2021 killing of Pray.
The sentence length was the low end of the standard sentencing range for similar cases. According to court records, Harris has no prior felony convictions.
The defendant’s mother said Pray threw things at her and hit her, usually on the top of her head to hide bruises, according to the sentencing mitigation report. She said Pray always carried a gun and once held her down on the floor and put his revolver in her mouth. On another occasion, the woman said, Pray fired a gun into the floor at her feet.
Other relatives of the defendant described witnessing Pray verbally abusing his partner as well as Harris and the defendant’s son.
Harris was arrested by Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputies the same day he shot Pray. Deputies went to the property after a neighbor called 911 to report that Harris had called him and said he shot his stepfather.
Deputies initially found blood near a workshop but no sign of Pray. Later that day, investigators located the defendant in his stepfather’s van near 136th Street East and Meridian Avenue East in South Hill. According to the probable cause document, when detectives asked Harris if he’d confessed to shooting his stepfather during a call with his neighbor, the defendant allegedly appeared shocked to hear his stepfather might have been hurt and denied killing him.
Detectives were granted a search warrant for the Eatonville property the same day, and at about 11 p.m., Pray’s body was found near a barn covered by debris.
According to charging documents, the argument between the two men broke out after Pray accused Harris of stealing beer. A memorandum filed by Harris’ defense attorney June 1 states that it wasn’t the first time Pray accused Harris of stealing things, then threw things at him.
In an interview with Harris’ defense attorney, the defendant’s mother said she saw Pray throw things at Harris at least 10 times over the course of years.
