Albany murderers receive life sentence

Billie Jack Robinson, 44, of Port Orchard, Washington, and Tennisha Quin Bourne, 36, of Albany were found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2021 death of 38-year-old Charles Thomas Mooney.

The two were tried simultaneously for murder and criminal conspiracy, but Robinson was tried before a jury, while Bourne opted for a single-judge trial, meaning the judge alone decided on her guilt.

Last week, Judge Brendan Kane sentenced Robinson and Bourne to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years and, if released, they will also have to serve 99 years' probation.

Mooney was killed in his sleep at his home on Willoway Drive in June 2021 when he was shot twice from his bedroom window late at night.

Investigators determined that Mooney had been shot in the neck and chest with a .45 caliber handgun. A third shot narrowly missed Mooney's head. His body was discovered the next morning.

Bourne had a relationship with Mooney that ended shortly before his murder. Prosecutors said Bourne incited Robinson to kill Mooney through thousands of text messages because he accused her of sexually abusing her daughter from a previous relationship.

However, Bourne claimed that Robinson forced her at gunpoint to take him to Mooney to commit the murder.

Concerned for his daughter's safety, Robinson reportedly drove more than 200 miles from Washington the night Mooney was killed. He picked up Bourne and their daughter at Bourne's house, left the girl with her mother, and then drove to Mooney's.

The video shown in court appears to show Robinson and Bourne outside Mooney's bedroom. A small dot from a pistol-mounted laser sight can be seen after Robinson climbs onto a workbench, fires through the window and then runs away.

The murder weapon was never found.

Robinson's defense attorney Clark Willes said Robinson was sexually abused for years as a child and Robinson acted in the belief that his daughter would be treated the same way by Mooney. He also said Robinson only went to Mooney's house to scare him – not to kill him.

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