A 27-year-old Bremerton man was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years and nine months in prison for the March 24 stabbing death of his wife, Girlie Quintana Weight, in their Montgomery Avenue home.
Michael Charles Cully stood silently as Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Leila Mills handed down the maximum sentence allowed by state Legislature for first-degree murder. Cully pleaded guilty to murdering his 26-year-old wife in August, meaning he could be sentenced to 250-333 months, or about 20-28 years, in prison.
Cully repeatedly stabbed his wife March 24 while she showered inside their Bremerton home. Kitsap County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Barbara Dennis told Mills that Cully stabbed Weight 19 times in the bathroom while their then-13-month-old daughter ate Cheerios in the kitchen.
After stabbing his wife, Cully called 911 to report his wife was “not breathing or moving, possibly as the result of a stabbing or shooting,” according to court documents.
Bremerton police arrived to the home in the 600 block of Montgomery Avenue to find Weight dead and slumped over the side of the bathtub.
Cully and Weight met in 2001 and married in 2005, according to court documents.
Cully first denied knowing anything about Weight’s murder, but eventually confessed to the crime. He admitted to police that he used a large butcher knife to stab Weight “about seven times” in the upper body area while she showered.
“He still does not accept full responsibility for what he did,” Dennis said.
Cully said they had been arguing about their relationship and he suspected Weight was having an affair, according to court documents.
Cully admitted to cleaning some of the bathroom after the attack and changing his clothes. He also told police he made phone calls, attempting to establish an alibi.
He led investigators to a trash container on Nollwood Drive where they found the butcher knife used to stab Weight to death, according to court documents.
During sentencing, Cully’s defense attorney told Mills that Cully knows what he did was wrong.
“Mr. Cully committed this crime against his wife and daughter, those who trusted him the most,” Dennis told Mills.
Girlie Weight’s uncle, Wayne Weight, spoke to Mills at Tuesday’s sentencing. Wayne and Lucy Weight adopted and raised Girlie Weight, who was born in the Philippines.
Wayne Weight told Mills that Cully destroyed many people’s lives and he had been abusive toward Girlie Weight in the past.
“He was always a controlling person. He was psychologically abusive to her,” Wayne Weight said. “I feel that him getting out on a minimum sentence is a travesty of justice.”
Cully cried while addressing Mills and said he does not expect forgiveness because he still cannot forgive himself for murdering his wife. He also apologized to Wayne Weight for “what (he) did to his daughter.”
Mills said Cully’s actions “paint a picture of a violent person seeking control.”
Mills said the sentence will not stop Girlie Weight’s family and friends from mourning her death and told Cully that his actions will have a profound effect on the couple’s young daughter.
“The greatest casualty perhaps is that your child is left without a mother and without a father,” she said.