Stevenson man gets 18 years for shooting

He pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder in slaying of wife

A Stevenson man will serve 18 years, 4 months in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife.

Skamania County Superior Court Judge E. Thompson Reynolds sentenced Darcy W. Banaszek, 34, on Thursday.

Banaszek had entered a guilty plea Oct. 29 to second-degree murder domestic violence, with a firearms enhancement, said Skamania County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Lanz.

Banaszek was arrested May 8 at his Stevenson home after deputies with the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office responded to a tip that Banaszek had shot his 31-year-old wife.

A woman called 911 at 6:44 a.m. to report that her boyfriend was on the telephone with someone, later identified as his brother, who reportedly said, “I killed my wife,” according to court documents.

The body of Kira Larsen Banaszek was found in a bedroom at the couple’s home on Wisteria Way.

She had been shot in the head.

A shotgun and two spent shells were found in the bedroom, but in a spot that “excluded the possibility Ms. Banaszek committed suicide,” according to the court documents.

When asked where his wife was, Banaszek reportedly told deputies, “She might be in the bedroom.”

Banaszek has no felony criminal history, Lanz said.

When asked about the motive, Lanz said Banaszek declined to speak with deputies, so “that’s something only he knows.”