Freeland man pleads guilty to murdering mother

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 17, 2026

A Freeland man who murdered his mother in their home in November 2023 admitted to the crime and is facing a lengthy prison term.

On Tuesday, Justin Wiener pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to murder in the first degree. As part of the plea bargain, both the prosecution and defense will recommend a sentence of 20 years in prison, which is the low end of the standard sentencing range. His sentencing hearing is set for May 6.

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks told Judge Carolyn Cliff that he expects Wiener’s family to offer their input during the sentencing hearing. He said they might speak for either the prosecution or defense.

Wiener’s own description of the crime against his mother, 53-year-old Brenda Wiener, was horrific. He tried to break her neck and strangle her before stabbing her and finally cutting her throat. Yet it was clear from reports by forensic psychologists that Wiener’s mental health deteriorated in the years and months before the murder and that he repeatedly sought help for mental health concerns and perceived medical problems.

Wiener told police that he killed his mother because he thought she was poisoning his bottled water but also because she was dying of cancer. He planned to kill himself through suffocation following the crime but changed his mind and turned himself in.

Wiener originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, which is a defense with a high legal bar. The defense attorney would have to show Wiener did not understand the nature and quality of the offense at the time or that he did not have the capacity to distinguish right from wrong.

A defense expert, Dr. Wendi Wachsmuth, diagnosed him with delusional disorder, schizotypal personality disorder and cannabis use disorder. She opined in her report that Wiener was unable to tell right from wrong at the time of the murder. She wrote that he operated under a delusional belief that he was acting in self-defense.

A forensic psychologist working for the state, however, concluded that Wiener did, in fact, understand the nature and quality of the offense and had the capacity to distinguish right from wrong.

The 34-page inpatient evaluation by Paula Bernhard, a licensed psychologist at Western State Hospital, describes Wiener’s life and his struggles. His family members said he was highly intelligent but lonely and troubled his entire life. He lived in a trailer home in Freeland at the time of the murder with his mother and father, though his father normally slept in a tent outside. He was unemployed, played video games for at least 10 hours a day, used marijuana daily and drank large amounts of energy drinks.

Brenda Wiener suffered from cancer prior to her death. During an appointment a couple of months before her death, she told the medical provider that her life was not good; her son, Justin Wiener, had an explosive mood disorder and “ruined their family”; her husband would not help in dealing with her son’s behavior; and she was depressed and wished her cancer would come back and kill her, according to the evaluation.

Wiener went to the WhidbeyHealth ER at least seven times in the three years prior to the murder and made a variety of complaints. The first time he said he was depressed and was referred to outpatient treatment, which he did not follow up on. A few months later he reported feeling very lethargic and believed his body was shutting down. The next year, he went to the ER and asked for a psychiatric evaluation for depression and mood swings. He was prescribed anti-depressant pills, but it’s unclear if he took them. A few months later he complained at the ER of chest and abdominal pain.

In 2022, he went to the ER for a headache, lethargy and confusion. He admitted to using marijuana and kratom. After tests didn’t uncover any medical problems, the doctor suggested he stop using cannabis and kratom.

In July 2023, an ambulance was dispatched to Wiener’s home after he complained about mold in the RV. He claimed that he almost went into a coma and had skin issues, although medical professionals only noted a few blemishes on his arm that he had picked. He was transported to the ER and prescribed an anti-fungal ointment.

In September 2023, an ambulance was again dispatched to his home. Wiener noticed a wound on his finger, felt that an insect was biting him and tried to burn away the apparent bug. At the hospital, a doctor did not see any insects but prescribed an anti-parasitic cream out of an abundance of caution.

Wiener murdered his mother on Nov. 17, 2023 and then walked to Nichols Bros. Boat Builders with blood-covered hands and clothing and said he wanted to report a crime he committed. After police responded to the scene, Wiener told them that he had killed his mother.

Deputies who responded to the trailer found his mother on the ground in a pool of blood. A deputy attempted CPR, but she was later confirmed to be dead. Her injuries were consistent with Wiener’s description, the report states.

Wiener told a deputy that he originally planned to commit suicide after killing his mother, but he instead decided he was going to accept whatever “is coming my way.”

The psychologist’s report described several reasons that Wiener gave for killing his mother. He said he felt she was poisoning his water bottles and his marijuana, although the police had the water tested and it was clean. He also said he wanted to end her suffering from cancer, felt she wanted to die and tried to give her a painless death.

“Everyone thinks I’m crazy,” he said while talking about his motive for killing his mother. “Basically there was no other option I could see. I was stuck.”