Man who escaped Western State Hospital found guilty of murder

A man who later escaped from Western State Hospital was found guilty on Tuesday of first-degree murder in the killing of a young Lake Stevens woman six years ago.

Anthony Garver, also known as Anthony Burke, was charged with the 2013 murder of 20-year-old Phillipa S. Evans-Lopez that same year but was committed to Western State after he was found to be too mentally ill to face charges.

The victim’s body was found in her Lake Stevens bedroom on June 17, 2013. Police said Garver tied her to her bed with electrical cords, stabbed her 24 times, then slit her throat.

Garver, now 31, had been in Western State since the killing, but escaped, along with another man, on April 6, 2016.

After two days on the run, he was captured in Spokane. The facility then determined he was competent to stand trial for Evans-Lopez’s murder.

Though he was again charged with first-degree murder in 2017, the trial was delayed numerous times because of questions about his mental health.

A bench trial – a trial by judge -- finally began early this month.

See our previous coverage on Anthony Garver below: 

Cox Media Group