Entertainment
Ex Beauty Queen Sentenced, Accepts Plea Deal
Peggy Sue Thomas, the former Washington State beauty queen charged with first degree murder of Russel Douglas, has accepted a plea bargain in return for a reduced sentence. Thomas pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of rendering criminal assistance in the first degree to the shooter, ex-boyfriend James Huden. Prosecutors asked that she serve a four-year prison term.
According to TV Guide, the prosecution alleged that the woman crowned Ms. Washington in 2000 assisted Huden in killing Russel, found abandoned in a car on Whidbey Island just two days after Christmas in 2003. Russel was the husband of a former colleague of Thomas.
Thomas refused to testify against Huden at his trial last year. Huden was sentenced to 80 years in prison when he was found guilty of first degree murder. Although Thomas appeared apologetic during her sentencing, neither she nor Russel have explained why they chose to target Huden.