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07-21-2025, 02:28 PM
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Spokane Couple Sentenced in Sorensen's Death
John B. Eisenman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the first-degree murder of 19-year-old Andrew Sorensen, while his fiance, Brenda D. Kross, received 102 months for first-degree manslaughter in Spokane County, Washington. Eisenman and Kross were an engaged couple in the Spokane area whose teenage daughter had been in a relationship with Sorensen. His family said he had cerebral palsy and autism. In October 2020, Eisenman and Kross said they believed Sorensen had sold their daughter into sex trafficking in the Seattle area. They traveled to the Seattle/Renton area, found her and brought her back to Spokane, where she was later taken to a hospital. Investigators found no independent, verifiable evidence that Sorensen had trafficked the girl, and plea papers later acknowledged there was no such evidence. Police and court filings treated the allegation as uncorroborated. Sorensen was reported missing around Nov. 1, 2020. Eisenman said he learned Sorensen would be at a mobile home and trailer park in Airway Heights, near Spokane, watched the area and confronted him after he was dropped off. Eisenman told police he bound Sorensen's hands and ankles with zip ties, put a sock in his mouth and taped it, then placed him in the trunk of a 1991 Honda Accord registered to Kross. He admitted striking Sorensen, including with a cinder block, and stabbing him in the trunk. Kross later described participating in the assault. Eisenman characterized the motive as revenge and protection over the trafficking allegation, which investigators did not substantiate. He later said he was likely under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the killing. Eisenman drove away with Sorensen's body in the trunk and abandoned the Honda on remote property off U.S. Highway 2 in north Spokane County. He removed its battery so it could not be driven. The car remained there for nearly a year before an unknown person moved it into Spokane. Uninvolved people found the mold-covered Honda and Sorensen's remains on Oct. 22, 2021, next to Rochester Heights Park in the East Everett Avenue area. Authorities confirmed his identity, including through dental records, and traced the vehicle to Kross. Eisenman initially said the Honda had been stolen and denied any connection to the body, although the car had never been reported stolen. A neighbor told police Eisenman had talked about killing someone and putting the body in a car. Eisenman then confessed and gave details only a participant would know. He was arrested about a week after the remains were found, in late October 2021, and charged with first-degree murder. Evidence included the vehicle's registration and location history, Eisenman's confession and specific knowledge of the crime, Kross's later admissions to coworkers, and the condition of the bound remains, which showed blunt-force and stabbing injuries. Investigators also reviewed digital and message records from the October 2020 Seattle-area trip that did not support the trafficking claim. Other inconsistencies included Eisenman's early denial followed by his confession, and Kross's initial limited account followed by detailed admissions that she participated. On Nov. 14, 2024, Eisenman pleaded guilty as charged to first-degree murder in Spokane County Superior Court. Kross pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, reduced from first-degree murder. Prosecutors described Eisenman as the primary actor. They recommended 22 years for Eisenman, the low end of the standard range plus a deadly-weapon enhancement, and about eight years plus community custody for Kross, but Judge Annette Plese was not bound by the recommendations. Kross was sentenced Jan. 16, 2025, to 102 months, or 8.5 years, in prison, three years of community custody and restitution related to funeral costs. Eisenman received a mid-range sentence of 25 years on March 14, 2025, above the 22-year recommendation. He was in his early 60s at the plea and his mid-60s at sentencing. The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 75 minutes. It shows the interview itself, without narration or a presenter.
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