PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man charged with the beating death of a Joyce woman has accepted a plea offer.
Ari Lee King, 42, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Diane Cunningham, 65, on Sept. 28, 2014.
He is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 16.
Defense attorney Loren Oakley told Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly on Friday that his client had accepted an offer from the state.
“We’ve reached a resolution in this matter,” he said.
Attorneys do not discuss pending plea offers. Details will be released during a change-of-plea hearing at 9 a.m. Oct. 12.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin requested more than one week’s notice for the change-of-plea hearing to accommodate Cunningham’s daughter, who lives outside of the county.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office alleges that King beat Cunningham to death with a carjack at her Joyce-area home.
She was last seen accompanied by King on video surveillance footage taken at 7 Cedars Casino and the Port Angeles Walmart, police said.
King was arrested Nov. 13 under a bridge in Malheur County, Ore., not far from where Cunningham’s abandoned car was found by hunters.
Previous trial dates of Jan. 5, May 4 and July 13 were nullified because of delays with DNA testing at a State Patrol crime laboratory.
