Larry Sturholm, a 46-year-old Emmy award-winning features reporter for KIRO-TV 7, was murdered on the evening of July 31, 1989, in a brutal double stabbing that also claimed the life of 35-year-old emergency-room nurse Debra Sweiger.
Sturholm and Sweiger were killed in Sweiger’s home near Issaquah. The perpetrator, William J. Pawlyk (then about 50), a former Richland businessman, Naval Academy graduate, and Naval Reserve officer, ambushed them. He apparently believed he was part of a love triangle and acted out of jealousy after learning that Sweiger (with whom he had been living) and Sturholm planned a trip to the Cayman Islands together.
Pawlyk waited inside the home with a hunting knife. Sturholm arrived first and was confronted; an argument led to him being stabbed multiple times (reports describe over 100 stab wounds in total across both victims, with one early account noting a dozen on Sturholm initially). Sweiger arrived shortly after and suffered the same fate. Pawlyk then attempted suicide. Sweiger was transported to Overlake Hospital but was pronounced dead; Sturholm was found dead at the scene. It was initially described as a double murder and attempted suicide stemming from a domestic dispute.
Debra Sweiger reportedly named her attacker before dying, which helped identify Pawlyk quickly. He was charged within days as the jilted lover.
Larry Sturholm was a well-known and popular Seattle television personality, working as a features reporter at KIRO. His brother, Phil Sturholm, was also in television news (executive editor at KIRO at the time) and later wrote publicly about the emotional impact of the crime and trial. Larry left behind a wife, Judy Sturholm.
The case shocked the Seattle and Tri-Cities areas due to Sturholm’s celebrity and the gruesome nature of the killings.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Wednesday, August 2, 1989 (click pictures to ENLARGE)
Pawlyk was tried in King County for two counts of aggravated first-degree murder. The defense explored an insanity angle, but he was convicted in July 1991. He received a life sentence without the possibility of parole (the state did not seek the death penalty in this case). Appeals followed, including a 1990 Washington Supreme Court case on procedural issues, but the conviction stood.
Pawlyk later sought clemency (denied in 2004 by a 5-0 vote of the state Clemency and Pardons Board). He expressed remorse in some statements, such as “I should have stayed with God. I tried and failed and created a holocaust,” but remained imprisoned.
William Pawlyk died in prison on October 6, 2021, after more than 30 years behind bars. He was in his 80s.
Phil Sturholm, Larry’s brother, described an initial thirst for revenge that evolved over time toward forgiveness and peace, as detailed in a 2014 reflection. The case highlighted the intense personal toll on victims’ families in high-profile crimes and was noted in media ethics discussions about covering stories involving colleagues.
The murder remains a notable true-crime case from late-1980s Washington state, primarily remembered for its brutality, the jealousy motive, and its impact on the local TV news community. No new developments or unsolved elements exist—the perpetrator was identified, tried, convicted, and served his sentence until his death in custody.
