Vendell Edward Henderson, 22, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing his father, Darryl Henderson, after what started as a late-December argument inside a Spanaway home turned deadly. He pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder in the December 30, 2024, shooting, a case that quickly expanded beyond a family dispute to include mental-health evaluations, substance-use questions and scrutiny over how the gun landed in his hands.
Judge signs off on plea with deadly-weapon kicker
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Timothy Ashcraft on Tuesday accepted Henderson’s plea and handed down a 12-year sentence at the low end of the standard range, with a two-year deadly-weapon sentencing enhancement folded into the deal, according to The News Tribune. Prosecutors agreed to recommend the 12-year term under the plea agreement, and a separate charge of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm was dismissed as part of the bargain.
Prosecutors say brief argument ended in gunfire
Court documents state the confrontation between father and son lasted only three to five minutes before Henderson grabbed a handgun from under his pillow and shot his father during the argument, as reported by KIRO 7. Deputies later tracked Henderson to a friend’s residence and arrested him there after first speaking with him by phone.
Mental-health history, hospital stay and required treatment
A psychologist with Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services evaluated Henderson and reported that he had been hospitalized about three months prior to the shooting for homicidal ideation, diagnosed him with an unspecified depressive disorder and found that he was capable of understanding court proceedings and helping in his own defense, The News Tribune reports. As part of the sentence, the judge ordered that Henderson be evaluated for substance-abuse and mental-health needs and that he follow through with any treatment that evaluators recommend.
Sleep, drugs and a handgun from a friend
According to probable-cause records reviewed by KIRO 7, Henderson told detectives he had gone three days without sleep because of stress and anxiety and had taken ecstasy and cocaine on the morning of the shooting. The documents also state that the handgun used in the killing was given to him by a friend about three months before the incident.
Family reeling as case closes, grief does not
The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled Darryl Henderson’s death a homicide, and emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. Relatives have called the loss devastating for the family, according to coverage by Yahoo News. With the plea and sentencing complete, the criminal case is effectively over, yet questions about mental-health support, substance use and what might have prevented the shooting remain at the center of the family’s grief.
