Murder Suspect Harper Will Not Be Charged in the Goggin Murder

No new murder charges will be filed against Kevin Harper, that's what a judge ruled today.  Yakima County Superior Court Judge Ruth Reukoff denied a request by prosecutors to revoke a plea deal and charge Harper with the murders of three members of the Goggins family in february of 2011.  Instead judge Reukoff let stand a plea deal Harper made with the Yakima County Prosecutors Office before prosecutors say they found new evidence pointing to Harper as the prime suspect.

Instead of revoking the deal, Judge Reukoff said a hearing will soon be held to address the plea deal. In the deal Harper agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges of possession of stolen property and unlawfully possessing a firearm. In the deal Harper could face up 7 to 15 years in prison.

Today's decision by Reukoff  means Kevin Harper will face only charges indirectly related to the deaths of Bill Goggin, his wife, Pauline, and his 98-year-old mother, Bettye. The three were killed in February 2011 in what investigators believe was a burglary gone bad at their home in the gated Falcon Ridge community.