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Woman faces decades in prison after lying about murder

TACOMA, Wash. — A woman faces more than 20 years in prison instead of the two or so she expected to receive after lying repeatedly about the night an 18-year-old was raped, drowned and dismembered in Tacoma.

The News Tribune reports a Pierce County judge invalidated Crystal Jackson's plea agreement with prosecutors, and she will be sentenced later this month for first-degree murder instead of second-degree manslaughter.

The 33-year-old Jackson has argued that she wasn't competent to enter into the plea agreement, which involved testifying against two others accused of Jesus Isidor-Mendoza's death. She's also argued that the attorney who advised her to accept the offer was ineffective.

Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh disagreed on both counts.

Mendoza was killed in October 2014, and his remains were found four months later in a Tacoma ravine.

Click here to read the full story on the Tacoma News Tribune.

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