“Evil has taken possession of my body.” Gig Harbor man sentenced for killing neighbor in his home

A Gig Harbor man who pleaded guilty to murder for fatally shooting a 76-year-old neighbor he suspected of intentionally frightening wildlife in his yard was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Mark Allen Erisman, 61, lived an isolated life in his home on the city's west side and came to view the birds and small animals that lived in the neighborhood of single-family homes as a sort of surrogate family. He had a history of generally tense interactions with people in the area, including the woman he ultimately killed in the home across the street from him on Valley View Drive, Diane Michele Perron.

Erisman also had mental health issues, according to court records, and he believed Perron had installed devices in his yard that somehow kept animals away. The devices were surveillance cameras. Neighbors suggested to detectives that Erisman had previously tried to break into Perron's home, and the victim told a neighbor she was installing the cameras because she had concerns about the man.

“He apparently came to believe that Ms. Peron and others were conspiring to alienate the little creatures he considered family,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas Howe wrote in court filings. “He apparently came to view Ms. Perron’s death as a solution to his situation.”

Perron's cameras captured Erisman driving to her home at the time of the shooting, according to court records. Erisman was sitting in a chair in her open garage around 3 p.m. when Perron went out to get her mail. Two minutes later, he approached her house with a handgun and could be heard saying, “Die today,” while looking directly at the video camera.

Perron was described as a “neighborhood grandmother” loved by all, according to a previous News Tribune article. More than a dozen people submitted victim impact statements to the court before sentencing, including neighbors, friends and relatives.

The victim's daughter, Michèle Bathurst, spoke in court Monday morning alongside her brother and Perron's daughter-in-law, according to court records. In his written statement, Bathurst asked that the court give Erisman as much time as possible so their family could begin to heal with the assurance that he would be locked up.

Bathurst wrote that her mother loved helping her family and community, knitting hats for cancer patients and making masks during the COVID-19 pandemic for neighbors. Bathurst said her mother was her best friend. She added that she was unable to see Perron's body during their final goodbyes because Erisman shot him multiple times.

“I hope that while Mr. Erisman is in prison, he suffers greatly,” Bathurst wrote. “I hope he dies on the cold prison floor, the same way my mother died – scared and alone. »

Erisman pleaded guilty in April to second-degree murder for the Oct. 3, 2020, killing. He was originally charged with first-degree murder. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Grant Blinn on Monday sentenced the defendant to 207 months in prison, including 60 months on the firearm fine, which is near the high end of the range. standard sentences for defendants prosecuted in similar cases, 123 to 220 months. Prosecutors noted that Erisman had legally owned a gun for “a long time.”

The punishment was consistent with prosecutors' recommendations. Howe wrote in court filings that he was reducing the sentence significantly from the sentencing range that would apply if Erisman were convicted at trial, but still imposing a significant sentence considering the age by Erisman.

Erisman's mental competency to stand trial was called into question as the case progressed. A psychologist with the state Department of Social and Health Services diagnosed him with an unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders about a month after his arrest. She found that he did not have the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings or to assist in his own defense.

The defendant was sentenced to two 90-day competency recovery periods at Western State Hospital.

By April 2022, Erisman's skills had improved to the point that a judge declared him competent to stand trial. According to his psychological evaluation, he still met the diagnostic criteria for schizotypal personality disorder, with paranoid features, as well as major depressive disorder and cannabis and alcohol use disorders.

Another psychological evaluation was ordered to determine Erisman's mental health at the time of the shooting. Records show that two DSHS psychologists found that Erisman was capable of perceiving the nature and quality of the act he was accused of, and that he could distinguish right from wrong regarding the shooting of Perron.

“The application of the statutes and case law that govern the potential defenses of insanity and diminished capacity suggests that Mr. Erisman has a “flawed” mental defense – that his actions were significantly influenced by his mental illness, but not to the extent or in the manner that would relieve him of any legal responsibility for the murder of Ms. Perron,” Howe wrote in court records.

Erisman gave his version of events to psychological evaluators, stating that before the shooting he had seen Perron trimming hedges in her yard and he thought she was exposing a device for a “clearer shot.” He said Perron went to get his mail and he thought the woman was making fun of him.

“Something came over me, took over my body, and I went for my gun,” Erisman reportedly said. “I walked across the street and kicked in his door. Shot him. It's like it's not me. Something does that. It was as if evil had taken over my body.

Erisman also fired his handgun at the device in Perron's yard. Neighbors remember hearing five gunshots. The medical examiner later discovered that Perron died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Law enforcement from multiple agencies searched for Erisman. His vehicle was found around 9 p.m. that evening on Ruston Way, and Erisman was walking nearby. While in detention, he reportedly said: “You got me” and “The gun is in the car.”