A former Washington state fire battalion chief will spend the next 25 years behind bars after a jury found he strangled his wife to death while carrying on an affair.
Kevin West, 52, who once served with the Camas-Washougal Fire Department, was sentenced Friday following his conviction for first- and second-degree murder in the 2024 death of his wife, 48-year-old Marcy West.
Prosecutors argued that West killed his wife so he could continue his relationship with another woman. In January, a Clark County jury agreed.
The emotional sentencing hearing laid bare a family shattered.
“My father’s actions not only took my mom’s life, they took my future with her — moments, memories and milestones that will never exist,” the couple’s 20-year-old daughter, Megan West, told the court, according to The Oregonian. She also accused her father of being more focused on his mistress than his children.
“What you did was beyond neglect,” she said. “You didn’t just destroy your family, you made us collateral in your wreckage.”
Their son, Ted West, offered a different perspective, asking the judge to show mercy. He described his father as empathetic and loving and urged the court to consider his character.
The case began on January 8, 2024, when Kevin West called 911 from the couple’s home in Washougal, claiming his wife was suffering a seizure and had stopped breathing. He told dispatchers he was performing CPR.
Despite life-saving efforts by first responders, Marcy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities later said several people contacted law enforcement with concerns about the couple’s relationship and suspicions that her death may not have been natural.
A medical examiner determined Marcy died from asphyxia with blunt trauma to the neck and ruled the death a homicide.
During the trial, prosecutors said West was actively involved in an affair and planning to leave his wife. His defense team argued that Marcy’s recurring headaches led to a seizure that caused her death.
West’s now-fiancée, Cynthia Ward, testified that she and West had a brief relationship years earlier and rekindled it in 2023 while he was still married. She told jurors she believed he would eventually leave Marcy but did not know when.
In a statement to the court before sentencing, West maintained he tried to save his wife’s life and apologized only for the affair.
“I made every effort to save her life,” he said. “I owe you all an apology for my affair, my only wrongdoing.”
The judge ultimately sided with prosecutors, handing down a 25-year sentence that closes one chapter of a case that stunned the small Washington community.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available 24/7 through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org.
Why kill her,just leave if you no longer want her