Christopher Gaudreau, the Centralia man accused of killing his girlfriend — local LGBTQ+ activist and performer Rikkey Outumuro — last year has accepted a plea bargain and is scheduled to be sentenced for second-degree murder and second-degree assault in Lewis County Superior Court on Dec. 7.
The standard sentencing range for the second-degree murder charge, which carries domestic violence and deadly weapon enhancements, is 240 to 304 months in jail, or 20 to 25 years. The standard range for the assault charge is 12 to 14 months.
Without a jury conviction, state law generally limits judges to the standard sentencing range, which is calculated based on the crime itself and the defendant’s criminal history. Gaudreau’s limited criminal history granted him a low offender score, which translated to a lower standard sentencing range.
If Gaudreau had been convicted at trial by a jury, he could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Gaudreau entered an Alford plea, which allows him to take advantage of a plea bargain without admitting guilt, to both the murder and assault charges on Oct. 10.
“I agree that the victim and I were intimate partners as defined by law,” wrote Gaudreau in his Alford plea, “I was highly intoxicated that night and don’t have a recollection of what happened so therefore I wish to accept the plea officer made by the state by way of an Alford plea.”
However, Gaudreau submitted a letter to the court several weeks later, on Nov. 7, stating he wanted to rescind his Alford plea.
“I have thought very heavily on this topic and taking a plea just feels wrong,” he wrote, “I agreed because the max time I could get (if convicted at trial) is very intimidating, but, with this plea, the least amount of time I could get is 20 years, even if you were to believe I am innocent. Whereas, if I am found not guilty at trial, I am not looking at a 20-year minimum.”
Gaudreau added, “I have tried many times to contact my legal counsel regarding this matter, but have not been able to get ahold of him.”
As of Monday morning, Gaudreau’s December trial dates had been canceled and a two-hour sentencing hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
Gaudreau was arrested the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2021, after waking up on the floor of his residence in the 800 block of South Gold Street that morning to his 6-year-old son playing video games and found Outumuro on the couch, dead, with five bullet wounds to her torso.
Gaudreau has consistently claimed he “blacked out” and did not recall anything between 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 31, at which time Outumuro was already dead.
In December 2021, prosecutors added the second-degree assault charge to Gaudreau’s case after officers learned Gaudreau allegedly shot at a friend around midnight before the murder.
Gaudreau told police he was carrying his handgun when he and Outumuro went out drinking on Oct. 30, but when he woke up on Oct. 31, “the firearm was missing and he did not know where it was located,” according to court documents.
Detectives later found the firearm in a tool chest in the back bedroom of the residence.
Gaudreau’s attorney is Christopher Baum. Baum informed the court in December 2021 that he intended to use insanity as a defense should his client’s case go to trial.
