Woman pleads guilty in husband's murder

A woman who once tearfully begged for her husband's killer to come forward wept again Thursday as she admitted she knew who did it all along -- and had even helped plan the ambush.

Velma Ogden-Whitehead, 50, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2005 death of her husband, Ronald Whitehead, who was shot near Sea-Tac Airport and shoved from his car.

Ogden-Whitehead acknowledged helping her teenage son and his friend plan a robbery to steal her husband's black Ford Mustang, but she said she only learned afterward that he'd been killed.

"Planning is probably a poor word," said her attorney, Jonathan Newcomb. "This wasn't well-planned at all."

The gray-haired woman, who rubbed damp eyes and occasionally breathed a ragged sigh, faces 20 to 27 years in prison when she is sentenced in Superior Court on June 5.

King County prosecutors agreed to ask for the minimum term and drop a five-year sentencing boost for commission of a crime with a gun in exchange for her guilty plea.

Whitehead's family and friends have been in court many times "to try and find the truth of what happened that morning in March more than three years ago, and to see justice done," they said in a statement released by Whitehead's grown daughter, Kimberley, who wiped away tears during the brief hearing.

"Many lives were forever changed. The ripples of his death have permeated far and beyond our imagination," it read. "This was a tragic death which shocked the community."

They thanked sheriff's detectives, prosecutors and victims' advocates, and said "the outpouring of support we received from strangers will never be forgotten."

Deputy Prosecutor Craig Peterson said Whitehead's family supported the outcome but may not feel "a complete sense of relief" until Ogden-Whitehead's son, Jon Ogden, and the alleged shooter, Wilson Sayachack, face trial.

The two men, both 19, have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. Prosecutors have not asked Ogden-Whitehead to testify against either man and don't expect her to do so.

Whitehead was killed March 18, 2005, when the longtime Boeing employee was on his way to work. The 61-year-old man was shot once in the back of the head and three more times in the back.

Sheriff's detectives spent more than a year building their case as Ogden-Whitehead made public pleas for her husband's killer to come forward.

They knew some things about the crime didn't seem to fit with a random carjacking. Whitehead's car was left nearby, his wallet wasn't stolen, and one of his guns -- kept in the Des Moines home he shared with his wife -- was missing.

In her plea agreement, Ogden-Whitehead said the plan was to have Sayachack hide in the trunk of Whitehead's car and that she helped by letting him stay in her garage and giving him information about her husband's driving habits.

"The robbery was aimed at stealing the vehicle he would be driving and it was understood that some force would be involved," her statement read.

She said she knew Sayachack had talked about using guns in the robbery, and that there were several of them in her house.

Investigators have said the woman was having an affair with a 26-year-old co-worker and amassed more than $1 million by selling her husband's properties and collecting his benefits after the crime, according to court documents.

Newcomb said there were "documented, serious difficulties in that marriage," declining to elaborate, but called the idea that she had financial motives ridiculous. "She's been concerned about the idea that this has been presented as premeditated murder," he said. "Unfortunately, she made some poor choices and had to deal with it."

Ogden's trial is set for July 21; Sayachack's is set for Sept. 2.

Sayachack already has faced two trials for the slaying, but both ended in mistrials. The first jury couldn't decide whether he was guilty, leaning 9-3 toward an acquittal.

A second trial was derailed last month when new evidence surfaced midway through the case. Drug detectives searching a Puyallup home found Whitehead's missing gun. Prosecutors say ballistics testing showed it was the murder weapon.