10/15/2026
from the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office. Spokane man who beat, strangled, and stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death sentenced to an exceptional sentence of 50 years in prison
On October 13, 2026, in Spokane County Superior Court, Jean Paul Kirkpatrick (48) was sentenced to 600 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of 1st Degree Murder last week. Additionally, by their special verdicts, the jury found Kirkpatrick was armed with a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime and that he and the victim, Fatimah Alghazwi, were intimate partners. Lastly, the jury found an aggravating circumstance known as “rapid recidivism” because Kirkpatrick committed this offense within a short period - 28 days - after his release from jail on other domestic violence offenses.
The case stems from an incident in February 2023 at an apartment in North Spokane. Court documents and trial testimony show police were called to the apartment on February 8th by a social worker who reported Kirkpatrick was trying to force his way into Alghazwi’s unit. Police arrived and spoke with Alghazwi, encouraging her to obtain a protection order after learning of Kirkpatrick’s escalating behavior. The next day, the social worker planned to accompany Alghazwi to secure a protection order. When Alghazwi failed to arrive for their appointment, the social worker became concerned and went to her apartment. Kirkpatrick opened the door and said Alghazwi was unavailable.
Later that evening, an employee at the daycare attended by Alghazwi’s children called 911 when Alghazwi did not pick up her children. Police arrived at Alghazwi’s apartment and found her face down in a pool of blood. Medics determined Alghazwi was deceased. She had been beaten, choked, and stabbed 19 times in the neck and shoulder. Surveillance video showed Kirkpatrick coming and going from her apartment approximately 4 times that day, eventually forcing his way in. Kirkpatrick left the apartment after the victim was dead, and returned a short time later, taking her wallet. Police later located and arrested Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick initially represented himself in the trial until Judge Marla Polin revoked his pro se status following his multiple outbursts and failure to abide by the court’s rulings. He eventually took the stand in his own defense and admitted to stabbing Alghazwi 18 times, saying he acted in self-defense and admitting he was not too drunk to form the intent to kill her, which his lawyers presented as a defense.
At the sentencing hearing, the victim’s surviving family and friends spoke passionately about the loss of this mother to two young children. The father of one child relayed that his child continually asks when her mother is coming back and must now navigate the world without her. The State requested the court impose an exceptional sentence above the standard sentencing range of 411-548 months in prison. Prosecutors argued that the facts of the case showed Kirkpatrick intended to kill the victim and ensured his success by first beating and strangling her, then stabbing her repeatedly as she lay unconscious on the floor. The State asked the judge to impose the high-end of 548 months, plus 24 months for the weapons enhancement, and another 28 months for the rapid recidivism aggravating circumstance, for a total of 600 months, or 50 years. The defense asked for the low-end of the sentencing range, noting, in part, Kirkpatrick’s traumatic childhood.
Judge Polin said she empathizes with Kirkpatrick’s difficult upbringing, but it did not justify a low-end sentence. She considered Kirkpatrick’s actions before, during, and after Algahzwi’s murder, including the three different ways he attacked her, which medical experts testified all contributed to her death. Judge Polin repeated Kirkpatrick’s words to detectives upon his arrest, that he “loved her to death,” saying she believes he did, indeed. The judge followed the State’s recommendation and imposed a sentence of 600 months in prison. She also imposed 36 months of community custody should Kirkpatrick be released from incarceration.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Hannah Stearns and Kaitlyn Berish handled the case and trial which lasted 6 weeks. We thank them, our Victim/Witness Advocates and support staff, and the Spokane Police Department, particularly lead Detective Chan Erdman, for their diligent work in bringing a measure of justice to the victim.
