A Seattle man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday in Whatcom County Superior Court for the killing of his half-brother during a road trip back from Republic, Washington, in 2022.
John Roper Thomson, 43, was found guilty of second-degree murder in May for fatally shooting 69-year-old Robert Thomson near the western end of Diablo Lake in the North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8, 2022. Thomson was initially charged with first-degree murder, but jurors ruled that the killing did not involve premeditation.
The court proceedings on July 25 began with a discussion of John Thomson’s motion for a new trial, which Judge Robert Olson ultimately denied. The state and John Thomson’s attorneys then put forth their sentencing recommendations…