Man convicted of 1987 Spokane murder could be released as an old man under state’s resentencing rules

A 57-year-old man who has served 37 years of a life sentence for a Spokane murder and rape could breathe free air in his 70s after a judge resentenced him Thursday.

Daniel D. Edwards pleaded guilty in 1987 to shooting his friend, 19-year-old Kipper “Kip” McKenna, and then raping McKenna’s 18-year-old girlfriend after Edwards asked the couple for a ride home from a party, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting.

Edwards, who was 20 when he killed McKenna, was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated murder and first-degree rape to avoid the death penalty.

In 2021, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled 18- to 20-year-olds cannot be given automatic life sentences for murder. This year, the state Supreme Court found that state courts can impose fixed sentences for that age group convicted of Edwards’ murder charge.

On Thursday, Spokane County Superior Court Annette Plese resentenced Edwards, who appeared via Zoom from state prison, to 60 years in prison with credit for time served.

Plese said Edwards demonstrated “some” commitment to change during his time in prison.

If he serves the remaining 23 years, he will be about 80 years old when he’s released.

After firing his .357 caliber revolver at McKenna’s head on July 15, 1987, on Beacon Hill, Edwards ordered the woman to take off her clothes and get in the back seat of the car she was driving, the newspaper reported. Prosecutors said he raped her there.

Afterward, Edwards dragged McKenna’s body about 40 feet into the brush and left it, police say.

Edwards took about $10 from McKenna’s wallet. As they drove from the area, Edwards allegedly made the woman stop at a convenience store so he could buy two cans of soda. Edwards later returned to the party and confessed to those who remained.

Edwards had been arrested the previous month, June 1987, on suspicion of second-degree rape and third-degree statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl, who was an acquaintance, The Spokesman-Review reported. He was released on his own recognizance the day he was arrested.

Edwards was required to adhere to release conditions, such as reporting to corrections officials every week and to keep a 10 p.m. curfew. He could also not use drugs, drink alcohol or use dangerous weapons.

Before the June arrest, Edwards was convicted of at least four felony crimes and two misdemeanors while he was a minor. The crimes included three second-degree burglary convictions, a motor vehicle charge and misdemeanor charges involving marijuana and another for simple assault.

The two victims’ families appeared in court Thursday and on Zoom for the resentencing.

William McKenna, Kipper McKenna’s father who flew in from Arizona to attend the hearing, said Edwards was an adult when he committed the crimes, not a “youthful offender” as the courts considered him.

“Danny Edwards does not need to be back on the streets,” William McKenna said. “He’s a predator.”

William McKenna read a statement from Diane Hanson, his ex-wife and son’s mother.

Hanson wrote that she thought this incident was behind her and felt shock, anger and then fear when she heard Edwards could be resentenced and released.

“Daniel Edwards was a monster who murdered my son 37 years ago,” she wrote. “How can they change this sentence?”

She feared Edwards has not changed and will harm others if released. She also wrote the grief shared by her family has been devastating, and her other son became an alcoholic and killed himself because of the murder.

Family members of the woman who was raped also addressed Plese, saying Edwards showed no remorse and could take revenge against the families.

“This is a nightmare no one wants to relive,” one family member said.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Sharon Hedlund asked Plese to impose the life sentence already set, or at least 50 years in prison with credit for time served.

“It’s extremely difficult to put a number on what you think is appropriate,” Hedlund said.

She said Edwards violated his release conditions the night of the murder and rape, and already had criminal convictions. She said he has a list of infractions, like threatening guards, during his time in prison, but no serious assaults of other prisoners.

“He displayed a proclivity for criminal activity leading up to this,” she said.

Hedlund said Edwards executed McKenna in order to rape the woman, the exact type of offenses that call for life without parole.

Edwards’ attorney, Katharine Allison, asked Plese to consider Edwards’ “impulsivity,” at his young age of 20. She said Edwards deciding to plead guilty to the crimes the month after they happened was an example of his recklessness and impulsivity.

She claimed Edwards was suicidal and planned to kill himself that night.

“This was one gunshot, one terrible but impulsive decision followed by another terrible impulsive decision to rape (the victim),” Allison said.

She said Edwards worked on himself in prison, would not reoffend in part because of his age and would not return to Spokane when released.

Allison asked Plese to release Edwards immediately or at least release him in no more than three years.

Edwards admitted he was a “monster” at the time and apologized to the families.

He said he understands his actions in 1987 continue to hurt the victims’ families today. He said it hurts him to think the families held anger toward him over the decades because that anger is toxic to themselves.

“Don’t scar yourself with that anger over me,” he said.