Redmond woman sentenced to 8 years for abuse

A Redmond woman’s stopped her trial on 89 charges of abusing her stepdaughter, including strangulation and assault, by pleading guilty to 16 of the counts and was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby imposed the sentence on Michelle Saunders, 42, who pleaded guilty Friday to charges including second-degree assault and felony strangulation.

They cover such shocking elements as forcing her stepdaughter to eat Tabasco sauce — and when she wouldn’t breaking her tooth with a metal spoon.

Prosecutors said she also admitted to kicking her stepdaughter in the groin and forcing her to stay in her bedroom for six months, only letting her leave to cook the family dinner — which she was not allowed to eat.

The woman’s stepdaughter, Nicole, spoke with NewsChannel 21’s Katie Higgins after Tuesday’s sentencing. Tune in for what she had to say at 5 and 6 p.m.

NewsChannel 21 was told Saunders appeared to be breaking down in court last Thursday after hearing very emotional testimony from her husband and son on the trial’s third day.

“My mom would punch her in the eye,” Saunders’ son, David Saunders, said tearfully. “I would try to tell somebody, but it would only make it worse.”

Attorneys for both sides declined to speak on camera Monday, but prosecutors acknowledged it’s rare for someone to enter into a plea deal in the middle of a trial.

Saunders was being tried on 10 counts of felony strangulation, 58 counts of criminal mistreatment, six counts of unlawful use of a weapon, 13 counts of assault and two counts of strangulation.

“I just feel like I blocked a lot of it out,” Ricky Saunders, Michelle’s husband, said on the witness stand last Thursday.

Ricky Saunders said he spanked his daughter when his wife said she needed to be punished. He said that he asked his wife if he could be the one only one who punished his daughter.

The defendant’s son, David Saunders, testified that his mother hit his half-sister often. He said he hit her in the face “over a dozen times.”

Ricky Saunders said he didn’t see his daughter acting out. His son David, said that many times Michelle Saunders would “yell” at his half-sister.

He recalled Michelle Saunders asking his half-sister to “cuss at her.” He said that his mother “apparently could see the hate on her face and wanted her to express it in words.” David Saunders said that only once that he could recall his half-sister “budged,” and lashed out.

David Saunders also said his mother hit his half-sister with a belt, a wooden spoon and even a metal spoon. He said the metal spoon bent that first time his mother used it on his half-sister.

Both the defense and the prosecution asked Ricky Saunders about family therapy. Ricky He said his wife did most of the talking, which he “thought was weird because it’s therapy for the kids, not for Michelle.”

He also brought up issues like rinsing his daughter’s mouth out with soap and at times, Tabasco sauce. He also talked about in-home cameras that were placed throughout their house. Some were put in the hallways, the kitchen and one was placed in his daughter’s room.

“Supposedly, in Michelle’s words, she was a you know, a whore, and all she wanted to do was sleep with the boys,” Ricky Saunders said.

The Saunders had two sons together, Derrick and David. Michelle Saunders also had a son, Larry.

Both Ricky and David Saunders said the woman’s daughter was treated differently than the boys.

David Saunders said his mother didn’t like his half-sister’s weight at one point. He said his mother made her run on a treadmill until she puked. He also said she had to eat Top Ramen for lunch and dinner.

David Saunders said his half-sister, now 19, had to cook meals, and on nights when they didn’t taste “right,” she had to go to her room and sit cross-legged for hours.