PORT ANGELES — Rhonda Marchi was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for attempting to murder her daughter, and she appealed the decision before she left the Clallam County Superior Courtroom handcuffed and in tears.
Friends and family members of the 44-year-old Port Angeles resident told her that they loved her and to “hang in there” before she was escorted to Clallam County jail.
Marchi softly replied, “I love you, too” while weeping.
A jury found Marchi guilty of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault of a child on March 18 for giving her then-10-year-old daughter, McKenna, crushed prescription pills partially dissolved in grape juice on Dec. 25, 2006.
Judge Ken Williams sentenced Marchi to 12 years for attempted murder and 10 years for the assault conviction. Both sentences will be served concurrently, and Marchi will be given nine months’ credit for the time she has spent in the Clallam County jail.
In an earlier decision, Williams had given himself the option of sentencing Marchi to more than 20 years, saying that he would factor in the child’s vulnerability and the trust she put in her mother.
The appeal, which involves only the sentence and not the conviction, will be reviewed by District 2 of the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma.
Public Defender Harry Gasnick filed for a stay of sentence while Marchi’s appeal is reviewed.
Williams will make a decision on whether to stay the sentence on May 7.
Appeal
The appeal process will take at least several months, said county Deputy Prosecutor Brian Wendt, who will represent the prosecution during it.
Wendt said the Court of Appeals may either confirm the sentence or reverse it based on any errors that it may find to have occurred during the trial.
Marchi — who according to a psychiatrist who testified in the trial, has major depressive disorder, “a rather long history of anxiety disorders” and borderline personality disorder — also gave herself a glass of the concoction that she gave McKenna in an attempt to kill herself.
She awoke several hours later and phoned 9-1-1 after she found McKenna unconscious and breathing deeply.
Gasnick argued that prison time should be limited because of Marchi’s mental disorder.
During the trial, Marchi said she wanted to save McKenna from her father. In her typed suicide letter, Marchi wrote that her only choice was “to take her to Heaven with me.”
McKenna now lives with her father, A.J. Hardy, in Idaho. She testified during the trial that her father has never harmed her.
No contact
As part of the sentence, Marchi can’t have any indirect or direct contact with McKenna unless her daughter initiates the contact and is over the age of 18.
Marchi, who is the mother of three children, also cannot have unsupervised contact with any children under 18.
A family friend, Claire Schwarz, 71, of Port Angeles said not being allowed to contact McKenna is the worst part of the sentence for Marchi.
“That in itself is a sentence,” he said after the hearing.
Schwarz, who said he thought the sentence “was way too strong,” was one of about 20 people who came to show their support for Marchi.
McKenna and Hardy addressed Judge Williams via speakerphone from Boise, Idaho. They both requested a sentence of at least 20 years to allow McKenna and her 5-year-old sister to become adults and “successful in life.”
“We are very pleased with the outcome,” Hardy told Williams.
Marchi wiped her eyes with tissue while her daughter was speaking.
‘Don’t trust mom’
“I still don’t trust my mom,” McKenna said.
“One thing I do know is that no one should deal with what I’ve been through.”
McKenna — who said she has been inspired to become a pediatrician because of the doctors who saved her life — told Williams that she still has trouble taking any sort of medicine because of her mother’s attempt to kill her.
“I will get shaky and will get a bad stomach ache and feel like throwing up,” she said.
Marchi said the last conscious thought that she can remember from that Christmas day was that Hardy was going to kill McKenna.
She said she doesn’t remember taking the pills and awoke with her daughter lying next to her on a bed. Marchi also awoke to find a phone lying on her chest and phoned 9-1-1.
Wanted to get help
“At that point, the only care I had was getting help for my daughter,” she said.
Marchi told Williams that she has made substantial progress in improving her mental health.
Hardy referred to Marchi’s attempt at suicide and murder as a “plot in her soap opera.”
“Can you imagine growing up knowing that my mother tried to kill me?” he said.
“We just want to put this behind us. Please give McKenna the gift of peace by sentencing Rhonda to 20 years.”
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ann Lundwall said she had argued during the trial for at least 20 years of prison time.
Gasnick declined comment because of the upcoming hearing on his motion to stay Marchi’s sentence.
Sequim lawyer Gary Sund also represented Marchi.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
