The sound of wailing filled a courtroom Tuesday morning as a prosecutor described the violent last moments of Ryan Crumal’s life.

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks held the knife that Ilene Erwin used to murder Crumal, her boyfriend, at their Oak Harbor home on the night of Nov. 13, 2020, in the midst an island-wide power outage. Banks described how she walked into the kitchen, retrieved the large knife and stabbed Crumal over and over in the torso and even the face.

“She stabbed him seven times with such force that it cut into his bone,” he said.

Erwin pleaded guilty to murder in the second-degree, with a deadly weapons enhancement, in January. The plea was unique in that it didn’t come with a joint sentence recommendation from the prosecution and defense. Instead, Island County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Cliff heard separate recommendations from Banks and defense attorney Matt Montoya, as well as heartfelt entreaties from friends and family of both Crumal and Erwin.

In the end, Cliff sentenced Erwin to 20 years in prison, which included a mandatory two years for the deadly weapons enhancement. The sentence was nearly at the top of the standard sentencing range.

Cliff pointed out that Crumal was only 32 years old.

“A man with hopes and dreams and who made a significant change in his lifestyle in order to live better,” she said, “in order to live a happier life.”

Cliff thanked those who spoke at the hearing and wrote letters for the insight they offered into Crumal’s life and the tragic and senseless nature of the crime. She read out loud from a letter by Tiffany Crumal, Ryan Crumal’s sister.

“They were so in love. I just do not understand this and never will,” Cliff read. “…Ryan was murdered by the woman he absolutely loved.”

Crumal’s mother, Jessie Williams, spoke at the hearing and described him as an outgoing, gentle and funny man who was a “rescuer” because he helped other people. She described how the crime has left her filled with sadness and anxiety.

“He shined so bright I called him sun,” she said. “She took my son away and now all I have is darkness.”

In the most unusual part of the hearing, Erwin’s former boyfriend, Jeff Dias, spoke on her behalf through video from his home in California. Erwin stabbed him during an argument at their California home in 2011 and was convicted of infliction of corporal injury on a spouse as part of a plea bargain.

Dias said he had been abusive to her and instigated the stabbing by assaulting and intimidating her.

“I wasn’t no saint,” he said. “I was a bad person.”

Erwin’s father and sister spoke for her, saying that she is not a monster but a human being worthy of mercy.

Erwin’s attorney, Montoya, said she has a great deal of remorse for her actions and took responsibility immediately for what she had done.

“I do not believe that a person should be defined by their worse moments and choices,” he said. “Ilene’s worst choice and moment in her life took place on that night of Nov. 13, 2020.”

Montoya said a noted expert on domestic violence concluded that Erwin’s action may have been influenced by post traumatic stress disorder from past domestic abuse and “her perception of the situation on Nov. 13, 2020.”

Erwin told police that Crumal attacked her prior to the stabbing and that it triggered her, causing her to “just lose it.” She had a large bruises in her forehead when she was arrested.

Banks and others, however, cast doubt on this allegation. Banks said there was no evidence that Crumal had ever been violent previously and he pointed out that Crumal’s hands didn’t have any bruising or marks that would have come from hitting someone.

Before being sentenced, Erwin spoke to the court, saying she was “truly in a state of shock and panic after being attacked.”

She also tearfully apologized to Crumal’s family and said she understood the anger and resentment that they felt toward her because she felt that way herself. She described all the plans that she and Crumal had made, including painting the kitchen of their new trailer, taking nieces and nephews on a trip and adopting a puppy.

“Ryan and I planned on growing old together,” she said. “So many plans, such a huge part of my life ended so suddenly and tragically that night. These are losses that I have to live with for the rest of my life.”

Crumal