By Al Camp
The Chronicle

     OKANOGAN - Two Spokane residents on trial in the death of a pregnant Tonasket woman in March 2009 heard testimony Tuesday, April 13, about a conspiracy to commit murder.
     "Tonasket" Tansy Fay-Arwen Mathis, 30, and David Eugene Richards, 34, are on trial in Okanogan County Superior Court for aggravated first-degree murder or, in the alternative, first-degree murder with premeditation, first-degree manslaughter of an unborn child and first-degree kidnapping.
     The state is trying to prove the defendants conspired to hurt Michelle L. Kitterman, who was about 11 weeks pregnant when she was stabbed to death in the early morning of March 1, 2009.
     Kitterman's body, which was stabbed 39 times, was found by people returning from church later that day on a driveway off Stalder Road about 14.5 miles southwest of Tonasket.
     Brent "Hollywood" Lane Phillips, 29, testified April 12. His testimony was part of a plea agreement to reduced charges of first-degree murder-premeditated murder, first-degree manslaughter of an unborn child, tampering with evidence and first-degree kidnapping.
     Phillips said he was hired by Mathis to rough up Kitterman, who Mathis said was a snitch or someone who told law enforcement about drug deals.
     The defendants allegedly lured Kitterman out of a Tonasket home to go to a casino in Okanogan and then into a cold night, saying methamphetamine could not be smoked inside a rented vehicle they were using.
     Phillips, who admitted he'd lied in earlier statements about Richards being present and stabbing Mathis, said he choked Kitterman and tossed her to the ground where Mathis initially stabbed Kitterman before he finished her off.
     On Tuesday morning, the state brought in employees for Sunrise Chevrolet in Omak and people from Tonasket to lay groundwork that Lacey Kae Hirst-Pavek, 34, Crumbacher, ordered the beating of Kitterman.
     Hirst-Pavek, who is awaiting trial May 4 on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, allegedly became livid that her husband, Danny Pavek or "D-boy," had impregnated Kitterman.
     She is out of custody on $250,000 bail.
     Among a smaller gallery of relatives watching Tuesday were Kitterman's mother, Tracy Jo Kitterman, and a sister who is in the Navy, Melinda Kitterman.
     Prior to the jury entering the courtroom, county Prosecutor Karl Sloan went over a plea agreement to be entered as evidence signed by Phillips, with some wording redacted. That included some prior convictions for Phillips that were not allowed in the trial by Chelan County Superior Court Judge T.W. "Chip" Small, who is hearing the trial.
     Discussion included that a plea agreement, where the state was suggesting a sentence of 26 years for Phillips, could be nullified if it was found he was not truthful while on the witness stand.
     Jason Bernica, general manager for Sunset Chevrolet in Omak, said Hirst-Pavek rented a four-wheel drive vehicle for two days, saying she was taking her husband to Yakima for treatment. She said their pickup truck was not reliable to make the trip and another vehicle was being left with a babysitter.
     The vehicle was returned sometime after 5 p.m. Feb. 28, and the early morning of March 2, testimony and a rental agreement showed.
     Several witnesses described a male and female with Hirst-Pavek when she took off with the rented SUV.
     Bernica said he talked to Hirst-Pavek after the return of the vehicle.
     "She said, 'They found Michelle dead and everybody was pointing their fingers at her,' " Bernica said.
     Jasmine Walts, who lives in Tonasket, said Hirst-Pavek called several times Feb. 28 asking for someone to check a residence to see if Danny Pavek was there.
     "She said all would be taken care of by Monday. She would have her life back together," Walts said of an alleged conversation with Hirst-Pavek.
     Cpl. Todd C. Hill with the Oroville Police Department described making a traffic stop of a pickup truck driven by Kitterman Feb. 2 for a suspended license.
     Hill said he'd stopped Kitterman in the past and found a marijuana pipe. So he called for a drug-sniffing K-9, which located a plastic bag of methamphetamine.
     "On the way to jail she admitted she knew the baggie was there but it was a joke," Hill said, saying Kitterman begged him to let her go because she was pregnant and he'd not see her again.
     Sloan asked if Kitterman worked for law enforcement, which would make her a snitch.
     "No one suggested she work off the charge," Hill said.
     Hill said Hirst-Pavek also called, asking that police keep an eye on Kitterman and alleging she was driving without a license and violating terms of her release.
     "She made it quite clear she had a problem with Miss Kitterman," Hill said of numerous calls.
     Ron Hammett, attorney for Hirst-Pavek, appeared briefly in court, saying his client, if called to testify, would plead the Fifth Amendment, taking her constitutional right to stay silent.
     That opened the door for the state to ask certain questions of people who allegedly spoke with Hirst-Pavek about an alleged conspiracy to kill Kitterman.
     Bob Rayman, the sales manager for Sunrise and immediate supervisor of Hirst-Pavek when she worked there more than a year ago, said, "She was going to find some way to get her out of their lives. She said she was going to eliminate her, to make her disappear.
     "She said she had some people in Spokane that were going to come to take care of it for her," Rayman said.
     When asked the demeanor of Hirst-Pavek before she was suspended due to poor work performance, Rayman said, "She was angry, extremely hostile."
     Rayman said he worked out of the same office as Hirst-Pavek in preparing vehicle sale forms, and found a something like a "Pee-Chee" in a drawer with Michelle Kitterman's name in inch and a half block letters.
     The folder included legal documents concerning Kitterman, such as an arrest report and custody papers. Rayman turned over the papers to the sheriff's office shortly after learning of Kitterman's death.
     Marcella Raymer, Tonasket, described how Mathis, Dan Pavek and others used methamphetamine.
     Raymer said Hirst-Pavek told her she disliked Kitterman because "she was with Danny all the time. She told me she hired people to take care of Michelle and the unborn child."
     Raymer said she thought Hirst-Pavek made the statement three to four weeks prior to Kitterman's death.
     Defense attorney Steve Graham asked why she took until April 8 to report the statement but was able to tell a friend about it in mid-March.
     "I was not hiding anything," Raymer said.
     "You took over a month to report it," Graham said.
     "I was not hiding anything," Raymer said.