GILBERT, Ariz. — A second plea deal is being offered to the suspect in an East Valley group home murder case.
Christopher Lambeth was arrested and charged with murder in 2021 for killing his housemate Steven Howells at the Tilda Manor group home in Gilbert. He also picked up an aggravated assault charge in jail.
If the case goes to trial, Lambeth faces life in prison for the murder charge.
In a third settlement conference on Friday, the prosecutor tried to work out a deal with Lambeth and his defense counsel.
Earlier this year, the prosecutor offered Lambeth 25 years in prison for a plea deal on both charges.
After negotiations, the state came up with a new plea deal for Lambeth, which was presented to him at the hearing on Friday.
Under the new plea deal, Lambeth would have to plead guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault, but then he'd have two options for punishment. He could choose to have a judge sentence him in the range of 16 to 25 years in prison or take a flat 20 years in prison.
The plea deal expires next week. If Lambeth doesn’t take it, the case will go to trial.
In 2007, more than a decade before the group home murder, Lambeth pleaded Guilty Except Insane, or GEI, for murdering his grandparents near Tucson. He was sentenced 25 to life at the Arizona State Hospital for treatment, but a now-defunct state board approved his release to the community just nine years later.
Eventually, Lambeth was placed at Tilda Manor, which has since closed down.
After Lambeth’s arrest in the group home murder in 2021, he was booked at the Lower Buckeye Jail, where he was caught on camera beating up another inmate.
Lambeth is facing two charges: first degree murder in the group home death and aggravated assault in the jail attack. So far, he’s pleaded not guilty in both cases.
During the hearing Friday, Lambeth was able to ask questions of his attorney, the prosecutor and the judge. Lambeth asked about the possibility of a GEI plea like he'd done in the past.
The prosecutor said the plea that's on the table now does not include Guilty Except Insane. The judge said Guilty Except Insane pleas are typically rare.
If Lambeth were to go to trial, it's possible he could try and use a Guilty Except Insane defense. If that were the case, the jury would have to determine if Lambeth was insane at the time of the crime.
Under Arizona law, if someone is pleads or is found Guilty Except Insane, they could be sentenced to the state hospital for treatment, rather than to state prison.
This case is the subject of the 12News I-Team podcast 'Locked Inside.'
I-Team
Learn more about other 12News investigations by subscribing to the 12News YouTube channel and watching our I-Team playlist.