Accused murderer may claim self-defense

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 10, 2026

An Oak Harbor man accused of beating his wife to death in 2024 may claim self-defense at trial, according to court documents.

Last month, Island County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Cliff granted the prosecution’s request to amend the charges against Phadell D. Saddler to murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the second degree and two counts of assault in the fourth degree. Each count includes a series of aggravating factors.

Prosecutors allege Saddler murdered 35-year-old Chanell Saddler as the culminating act of a pattern of domestic violence.

Last week, defense attorney John Ewers of Everett filed a notice indicating self-defense may be raised at trial on the murder charges, while he intends to argue general denial on the assault charges.

The defense motions do not explain the basis for a possible self-defense claim. One motion argues that the evidence supporting the assault charges is weak, noting that Chanell Saddler never reported being assaulted to police, officers found no probable cause for an arrest and she told medical providers that her injuries were accidental.

Last month, Deputy Prosecutor David Carman filed a motion to amend, adding murder in the first degree and additional assault charges. The motion included new investigative reports detailing an alleged history of domestic violence against Chanell Saddler, marked by repeated injuries, hospital visits, police contacts and concerns raised by family members and friends before her death.

In a motion, Ewers opposed joining the assault and murder charges, arguing it would unfairly prejudice the jury. He wrote that the evidence supporting the assault charges is significantly weaker than the murder charges, that jurors could have difficulty considering each charge separately and that combining all the charges would unnecessarily lengthen the trial.

Cliff granted the prosecution’s motion to amend, overruling the defense’s objection to joining the charges for trial. She ruled, however, that the defense may renew its motion to sever the charges — either before or during trial — and ask that they be tried separately.

Saddler is being held in jail on $750,000 bail. His trial is set for Aug. 4.

Ewers did not respond to a request for comment.