A Washington couple has confessed to killing their daughter’s 19-year-old ex-boyfriend whom they falsely claimed had sold her to a sex trafficking ring.
While appearing in Spokane County courtroom on Thursday, John Eisenman and his fiancé Brenda Kross pleaded guilty to the 2020 murder of their daughter’s ex, according to local CBS affiliate KREM. The teen’s family was in the courtroom, but the 19-year-old’s identity and image are not being released out of respect.
Per the outlet, Eisenman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Kross pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. (She was initially charged with first-degree murder.)
In November 2021, Eisenman, 63, was arrested after police reportedly discovered a body in the trunk of a car, with investigators finding that the remains belonged to his daughter’s teen boyfriend, according to the Spokane Police Department at the time.
A year prior, in October 2020, Eisenman “learned his juvenile daughter was allegedly sold to a sex-trafficking organization in the Seattle area” and “obtained information his daughter’s boyfriend [the deceased] may have been the one responsible for her sale,” Spokane Police said while detailing the investigation. According to the statement, Eisenman was “able to rescue” and bring her home to Spokane.
Police said Eisenman learned of the location of her daughter’s boyfriend the next month, and went to confront him.
“Eisenman waited for the victim and confronted the 19-year-old as he arrived. During that encounter Eisenman abducted the victim, tying him up and placing him in the trunk of a vehicle,” Spokane Police wrote. “Eisenman subsequently assaulted the victim by hitting him in the head with a cinder block and then stabbed him repeatedly, causing his death.”
According to police, Eisenman put the teen’s dead body in the car and drove to a “remote area” in North Spokane County and left the vehicle with the body still inside.
The body wasn’t reportedly discovered until nearly a year later, in October 2021, when the abandoned vehicle was found.
“[I]ndividuals were rummaging through the car and taking items when they made the gruesome discovery,” police said in the statement.
Per KREM, police traced the vehicle back to Eisenman, who was subsequently arrested. Eisenman reportedly admitted to police that he murdered the teen, according to the outlet, citing court documents at the time of Eisenman’s arrest.
Kross, 57, meanwhile, was arrested a year later, per KREM, and also reportedly confessed to a co-worker that she assisted her fiancée in the brutal murder of her daughter’s ex-boyfriend.
During the investigation, Spokane police did not find any evidence supporting the couple’s claim that the teen sex-trafficked their daughter, according to KREM.
On Thursday, the judge read Kross’ guilty statement, which proved there was no evidence of sex trafficking, KREM reported.
“‘And I further acknowledge that there was no corroborating evidence that [the teen] sex trafficked [my daughter],'” the judge read in court.
Eisenman and Kross face up to life in prison. However, according to KREM, prosecutors will recommend 22 years for Eisenman, which is a low sentence for murder, and an eight-year prison sentence and three years of community service for Kross, with the lower sentences being part of the couple’s plea deal.
Eisenberg and Kross’ sentencing hearing is set for January 2025. The family of their daughter’s ex-boyfriend is expected to give victim impact statements in court, per KREM.
