SPOKANE, Wash. — Vulgar words flew across a Spokane County courtroom Tuesday as Justin Crenshaw received the same sentence he got nearly two decades ago: life in prison without parole.

Crenshaw murdered two young people in North Spokane in 2008. He brutally stabbed 18-year-old Mead High schooler Sarah Clark and her friend, 20-year-old Tanner Pehl, mutilated their bodies, posed them with swords, and set the house on fire to cover up the crime. The victims had known Crenshaw for just two weeks.

Crenshaw also killed his cellmate while serving time.

A 2021 Washington law change allowed Crenshaw to challenge his life sentence. The law says offenders between 18 and 21 cannot get a fixed life sentence. Since he was 20 during the crime, he could be resentenced.

Over two days, Judge Dean Chuang

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