EVERETT — Opening statements are scheduled Wednesday in Everett in the aggravated murder trial of an inmate accused of killing a corrections officer at the Washington state Reformatory.
If convicted, Byron Scherf could face the death penalty.
Snohomish County prosecutors say the convicted rapist was already serving a three-strikes life sentence when he strangled Jayme Biendl with an amplifier cord in January 2011 in the prison chapel.
The Daily Herald reports a prison investigation led to the firing of three corrections officers. Others were demoted and disciplined.