OLYMPIA — The Washington Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Dayva Cross, who was sentenced to die for killing his wife and two of her daughters in 1999 in Snoqualmie.
In a unanimous decision issued Thursday, the court dismissed several claims by Cross, including whether the admission of claims of guilt that Cross made while he was first in custody violated his constitutional rights and whether he had ineffective counsel.
Cross was arrested after a surviving girl escaped and called police. He was sentenced to death in 2001.
There is currently a moratorium on the death penalty in Washington state. Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee said that he is suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington for as long as he’s in office.
