[chris]

Shyla A. Osborne pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 150 months in prison for shooting her fiance, Daniel E. Cason, in Walla Walla, Washington, on August 29, 2017.

Osborne and Cason, 31, lived together in the 500 block of East Cherry Street. Osborne said she met Cason in 2014 in Richland, Washington, while working at a Walgreens after moving to the area from Tennessee. She obtained a temporary protection order against Cason in 2015, citing concern about his temper.

The couple argued about finances and other issues on August 28, 2017, and the dispute became physical. Osborne took a Ruger LC9 pistol from atop the refrigerator, put it in her bra and kept it on her. The next day, she messaged and called several people to ask about self-defense and whether they would be mad if she did something. She also searched Washington State self-defense laws on her phone.

A second argument that afternoon led to a struggle over the gun. Charging papers said that after a misfire, Osborne cleared the malfunction, freed herself from Cason and shot him three times behind the right ear. A deputy coroner reported that Cason died of three gunshot wounds to the head from a pistol.

Police initially described the death as a shooting during a domestic dispute and investigated whether it was accidental. No one was arrested at the time. Prosecutors awaited Washington State crime lab results on blood, bullets and other evidence while weighing Osborne's claim of self-defense. Walla Walla County Prosecuting Attorney James L. Nagle filed a first-degree murder charge on October 5, 2018. Osborne was arrested on October 8, 2018, and bail was set at $500,000.

During the first of two interviews, conducted on the day of the shooting, a detective read Osborne a constitutional rights warning form and told her she was not under arrest. She signed it and said she had nothing to hide. Osborne described the relationship and Cason's temper, said he carried guns constantly, and said he had threatened to kill her that day. She said she shot him because she believed he would kill her. Osborne said she did not know how many times she fired, then dropped the gun, took the children outside and called 911. She was not charged until more than a year later. A second interview on September 5, 2017, is covered separately.

Osborne was the only person charged. She initially pleaded not guilty, and trial dates were repeatedly continued. On June 10, 2021, days before a June 21, 2021 trial date, she pleaded guilty in Walla Walla County Superior Court to an amended charge of second-degree murder. The standard range was roughly 10 to 18 years. Prosecutors recommended 150 months, while the defense requested 123 months. Judge Brandon L. Johnson sentenced her on December 29, 2021, to 150 months, or 12 and a half years, with credit for 1,178 days already served, leaving about nine years. No later development has been publicly reported.

The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 41 minutes. It presents the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.

[chris]

Shyla A. Osborne pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 150 months in the August 29, 2017 shooting death of her fiance, Daniel E. Cason, in Walla Walla, Washington.

Osborne was charged with first-degree murder in October 2018. She pleaded guilty on June 10, 2021, and was sentenced on December 29, 2021.

The September 5, 2017 interview was her second recorded police interview, held a week after the first. Osborne called police and asked to talk, and detectives reminded her that she had already been advised of her rights several times.

Osborne brought a written account she made after praying and trying to recall events. She said she had blocked out memories since childhood. She said that after she got the gun working again, Cason let go with one hand and reached toward his own holstered firearm, and she began shooting.

Detectives revisited what Osborne had shown them during the first interview. They also asked about her phone, messages and photos she had sent Cason's mother on Facebook, and the 2015 protection order. While the first interview contained her initial account, the second added her written recollection and follow-up questioning.

The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 61 minutes. It shows the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.

[chris]

Part 2 of 2 of Shyla Osborne Questioned in Daniel Cason Shooting.