D.A. didn’t seek death penalty because Womack quickly confessed

Benton County added a life sentence to one handed down Wednesday in Multnomah County to a carjacker who killed two men and a teenage girl two years ago.

Shawn Womack, 23, sat quietly in shackles and under heavy guard as Benton County Circuit Judge Janet Holcomb imposed the sentence. It was part of a plea agreement crafted with Multnomah County authorities.

The Benton County sentence of life without parole will run consecutively with the Multnomah County judgment, virtually assuring that Womack will die in prison.

“The sentence stands alone,” said Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson. “If something were to happen in the other cases, this would not go away.

“He waived everything that could be waived in order to get some finality in this.”

Womack admitted killing Chai Taphom, 28, and Michael Burchett, 38, in separate Portland carjackings in May 2006. He then executed 17-year-old Marissa Manwarren, the girlfriend of an accomplice, in rural Benton County after she learned about the murders.

Haroldson said he did not seek the death penalty because Womack was remorseful and confessed right away, which helped police to quickly locate Manwarren’s body. Womack also willingly cooperated in negotiations with both counties.

Womack planned robberies with his girlfriend, Jasmine Lesniak. Both were students at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.

Womack admitted he had threatened to kill his accomplice, Cevelino Capuia, and his pregnant 17-year-old girlfriend, Manwarren, if they told anybody about the two carjackings and murders.

After Capuia was arrested, Womack and Lesniak picked up Manwarren, ostensibly to give her a ride. Womack instead drove her to Benton County, shot her and drove the body to the Oregon Coast, then dumped her body at Beverly Beach.

Capuia and Lesniak face multiple charges in the case.