Jonathan Harris walked into a courtroom packed with friends and family of Nicole White. And it quickly became apparent that his attempt to withdraw a guilty plea in White's murder was going to be a tough sell.
Deputy Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney John Sheeran attacked Harris' credibility and his changing stories about his guilt in her death.
In July Harris, who is 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a signed statement that he beat the 29-year-old mother of two to death while the two were on a date last June.
“So did you lie to the court when you said that?” Sheeran asked, referring to Harris’ guilty plea. “Yes, then,” Harris responded.
Sheeran also quizzed Harris about a jailhouse interview with KIRO 7 on Tuesday.
“Last night you did an interview with KIRO TV?” Sheeran asked. “I did,” Harris’s said. Sheeran pressed Harris on his statements during that interview. “You said you didn’t know who killed Nicole?” Sheeran said.
Harris, who acted as his own attorney after firing a public defender, mumbled an answer stating he claimed he didn’t kill her.
In the interview Harris repeatedly said he didn’t know if he killed White, but also refused to deny it.
“Did you kill Nicole White,” I asked. “Uh, I don’t know,” Harris responded.
But prosecutors said Harris has admitted killing White, presenting a statement from a cellmate Harris befriended while in federal detention on an unrelated charge after her murder last year.
The cellmate told prosecutors Harris claimed White laughed at him because of a testicle he lost to a childhood injury saying, “and she made fun of me, and she's never gonna make fun of a grizzly bear again. She found out what happens," the statement read.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Susan Serko denied Harris’ motion and ruled his guilty plea will stand.
White's friends and family members say they're happy he will be held accountable for her death.
“I think it’s good for the family that we can finally get some closure and head on to sentencing,” said family friend Amanda Neilson.
“He’s a monster,” added White’s cousin Dana Johnson. “Hopefully this is the end of it and we can put it behind us and move on.”
Harris is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 23. Prosecutors charged second-degree murder saying there was not enough evidence to prove White’s death was premeditated, which is required to charge murder in the first degree.