Carnation killer testifies in sentencing trial

A man convicted of killing six members of a Carnation family is testifying in a trial Thursday to determine whether he is to be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

Joseph McEnroe recounted his upbringing Thursday as he took the stand in King County Superior Court during the penalty phase of his trial.

He was asked about his mother.

“She doesn’t really know how to be an adult,” McEnroe said. “She doesn’t really know how to handle kids or really be responsible, or keep the bills paid, or keep a steady job. I’m not going to sit here and say that she’s a bad person or anything because she’s not. She’s, frankly, the only person who still writes me.”

Jurors last week found the 36-year-old man guilty of six counts of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances. The same jurors will be determining whether he should avoid the death penalty.

McEnroe confirmed that he felt some sort of acceptance with Jehovah’s Witnesses until he told elders he didn’t have a guilt-free conscience. He stopped studying to be a minister.

“I felt that I had failed and that I had been rejected by God at that point.”

Prosecutors said McEnroe and his former girlfriend, Michele Anderson, shot and killed six members of Anderson’s family on Christmas Eve 2007.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.