Convicted murderer sentenced to 16 years in prison for 'brutally' assaulting women in downtown Spokane

Sep. 19—The man who stabbed Crystal Olsen, beat another woman on a downtown Spokane sidewalk and murdered a woman 12 years ago along the Spokane River will continue to "brutally attack and murder women" when he's released from prison, Olsen said in court Thursday.

A judge sentenced Avondre C. Graham, who wore white Spokane County Jail clothing, Thursday to nearly 16 years in prison for the two assaults.

"Mr. Graham feels inclined to brutally attack women and seems to enjoy the process," Olsen said.

Graham received a 10-year prison sentence in 2013 for the fatal stabbing of Sharlotte McGill as she walked her dog along the river in 2012.

After getting out of prison, Graham attacked Olsen and another woman in separate downtown incidents in which he asked them for a cigarette and to perform oral sex on him.

The first attack was Sept. 15, 2022, when Olsen was outside her Howard Street apartment building smoking a cigarette before work, Olsen told police in court documents. Graham approached her, asked her for a cigarette, and she refused to give him one.

She told police Graham asked for oral sex and demanded she remove her pants. She refused again, and Graham grabbed her around the head, stabbed her in the hip and punched her several times in the head.

On the morning of Jan. 27, 2023, another woman was walking to work on Stevens Street near Main Avenue when Graham asked her for a cigarette, she told police. She told Graham she did not have one, and Graham, who had walked past her, asked for oral sex.

She told police she yelled at Graham to get away. Graham then pushed her down on the sidewalk before punching and kicking her multiple times in the head and face while she was on the ground. She sustained a fractured orbital bone and needed stitches to close a wound below her eye, according to court records.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Hannah Stearns said Graham's shoe prints were left on her face.

Graham was arrested near the Monroe Street Bridge where he tried to kick and headbutt officers, spitting at one, police said in court documents. Graham said, "I will take your gun and kill you all," according to police.

Graham pleaded guilty in July to first-degree assault for the stabbing and third-degree assault with sexual motivation for the beating on Stevens Street.

As part of a plea agreement, an alleged domestic violence assault in which he reportedly threatened to kill his girlfriend in November 2022 was dismissed.

In a victim impact statement during Thursday's sentencing, Olsen told Spokane County Superior Court Judge Dean Chuang that Graham stabbed her a year after she lost her Browne's Addition residence in a fire. Olsen and her daughter relocated to a motel after the blaze and Olsen began rebuilding her life.

Besides the physical injuries from the attack, Olsen said she has post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, depression and anxiety. Her daughter, who was home when Graham attacked Olsen, struggled in school and had nightmares.

Olsen said she lost her job, car and apartment because of the traumatic experience.

Stearns said the lives of all three women who were assaulted were derailed and admitted the 16-year sentence, which was agreed upon by attorneys on both sides, is not enough time. Still, she believed a plea agreement was appropriate.

Stearns said the cases cannot be summarized on paper.

"Nothing will reflect what they've been through or give back to them what they lost," Stearns said.

Graham's attorney, Victoria Blumhorst, said Graham's cases are "horrible facts," and that Thursday's sentence is significantly longer than his murder sentence.

Graham, whose family members attended Thursday's proceedings, declined to address the court under Blumhorst's advisement.

Blumhorst said Graham was extremely remorseful for his actions.

Chuang said Graham's actions don't express remorse. Instead, he said he believes Graham will commit crimes again, and if it's serious enough, he would face a life sentence, given the two strikes against him.

Chuang called Graham's violence "highly disturbing." He said the presentence investigation report cited multiple infractions by Graham while incarcerated.

"I think the randomness of all of this is even more disturbing," Chuang said.