Man gets 14 years for strangling wife

A 44-year-old Vancouver man will serve just more than 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife.

Larry F. Van Schaick was sentenced Thursday morning to about 14 years, four months in prison by Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Harris.

As the parents of his former wife, Erin D. Wilson, spoke about their daughter during sentencing, Van Schaick openly cried. At certain points, he dropped his head in his hands and sniffled.

When it was his turn to speak, Van Schaick broke down sobbing.

"I heard everything (the family) said," Van Schaick told the judge, pausing. "And, yes, every day for me is dark."

Van Schaick was set to go to trial Monday on a charge of first-degree murder, but agreed to plead guilty to killing Wilson, 25, in exchange for a lesser charge.

The state's sentencing range for second-degree murder is between 10 and 18 years, as opposed to first-degree murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 20 years. Van Schaick's attorney, Gerry Wear, and Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson agreed on the 14-year sentence.

Wear said his client was under the influence of alcohol and controlled substances and couldn't have formed the premeditated intent required for a first-degree murder conviction; Jackson called the sentence a middle ground.

"There was significant evidence the state had to establish murder in the first degree; there was significant evidence the defense had to establish manslaughter," Jackson said. "The state thinks this is a fair resolution."

Van Schaick was arrested shortly after Wilson's body was found Nov. 12, 2007, in a home at 5706 N.E. 58th Court in the East Minnehaha neighborhood. She had been strangled.

Van Schaick had fled, but called 911 for help after spending a night on the run. He had apparently slashed his wrists. Deputies responded and found Van Schaick in a fenced-in drainage swale less than a mile from the house.

Van Schaick and Wilson were married in 2006, in Reno, Nev., but he filed for divorce 10 months later.

At Thursday's sentencing, Wilson's mother, Kerry Crane, called her daughter's death "a sad and tragic end to a case of domestic violence."

"All he wanted to do is have her all to himself," she said. "He could not, would not share her. This is how the abuse starts."

She spoke of her family's turmoil and the irony that made it worse.

"It was not the boogeyman who killed her or a monster under her bed," Crane said. "It was her husband, Larry."

Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.