State v. McDonald

— The State of Washington charged Nicholaus J. McDonald in Grays Harbor County Superior Court with three counts of aggravated first degree murder. A jury found McDonald guilty of two counts of the lesser-*683included offense of second degree murder, and acquitted him on the third count. Based on the verdict, the. trial court sentenced McDonald to an exceptional sentence of 778 months. McDonald appealed, arguing that (1) his actions did not constitute the proximate cause of the second degree murder of one victim, (2) the trial court erred in instructing the jury regarding both principal and…