A University Place man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend with a torch lighter and threatening to kill her during a days-long trip on the man's sailboat has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
James Ray Wilson, 62, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic violence assault and two counts of felony harassment with threats to kill for events that occurred on his sailboat offshore between July 28 and Aug. 1, 2023. Court records described the victim being choked into unconsciousness, punched, slammed into a wall, burned with a lighter and otherwise assaulted over three days.
"Wilson threatened to kill [the victim] by 'holding a red folding knife to her leg and throat, telling her that he was going to cut her up into little pieces and dump the remains of her body on an island,'" prosecutors wrote in charging papers. "Wilson later told [the victim] that he would 'tie her up to the anchor of the boat and throw her overboard.'"
The sentence Pierce County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Martin imposed Thursday was at the high end of the standard sentencing range for defendants prosecuted in similar cases, and it was in line with prosecutors' recommendation. The punishment included a 12-month deadly weapon sentencing enhancement.
Wilson has four prior felony convictions from Idaho, according to court records, including for aggravated battery in 2001 and burglary in 2010.
In his guilty-plea statement, Wilson admitted he assaulted the woman with a torch lighter. He said he was pleading guilty to the other charges to take advantage of a plea offer from prosecutors and avoid the risk of trial on the original charges.
Prosecutors originally charged Wilson with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, three counts of second-degree assault and two counts of felony harassment. In a court filing, deputy prosecuting attorney Emily Cox wrote that the state was unable to proceed on all of the original charges because the victim, a 44-year-old woman, had died.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a Monday afternoon request for comment on the circumstances of the victim's death.
Wilson remained in custody on $1 million bail for the duration of the case. He was arrested Aug. 1, 2023, after Tacoma Police Department officers responded to a boat launch near Point Defiance for a report of domestic violence with a weapon, where officers interviewed the victim.
The woman had severe bruising on her face and throat, according to charging documents. When she was brought to Tacoma General Hospital, forensic investigators noted she had 12 burns the size of a quarter on her side, left leg and left arm.
She told police that she'd been in a relationship with Wilson for nearly a year, and he invited her to live on his boat in July 2023 because she was homeless. According to court records, Wilson lived on his sailboat and docked it in University Place on Day Island.
On their most recent boating trip, the woman described how Wilson held her against her will, beat her, sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her over three days. It's unclear where the two went on the boat — court records only described their whereabouts as offshore.
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