Making sense of Marci Kitchen’s possible 11 year sentence

EUREKA, Calif. (KIEM) – After pleading guilty on Monday in the Humboldt County Courthouse to two counts of vehicular manslaughter in a 2016 DUI hit-and-run crash, 40-year-old Marci Kitchen faces a potential 11 year sentence, at most.

This has left many residents wondering, is 11 years all that will be afforded to Kitchen, who now claims responsibility for killing two teenage girls?

In the state of California, Marci Kitchen’s charges do add up to 11 years, at most.

Here four charges, which she pled guilty to, are as follows:

1. Vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence while being intoxicated, with special allegations of fleeing the crime scene with multiple victims
2. Another count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence while being intoxicated
3. Driving under the influence with special allegations of causing great bodily injury resulting in brain injury and paralysis with multiple victims
4. Hit and run causing death

It is notable that Kitchen is not facing murder charges.

On Monday, Judge Kaleb Cockrum explained that Kitchen’s two vehicular manslaughter charges account for two years prison time. Her other two charges account for the remaining potential years.

Had kitchen gone to trial, it would have been possible more charges could have been tacked on by prosecutors, and sentencing consequences could have increased. However, with a guilty plea in place, a trial is deemed unnecessary.

Judge Cockrum will make the final call on Kitchen’s sentencing on September 18. When we learn details of that official sentence, we will promptly bring it to our Redwood News viewers.