Washington state inmate sentenced for killing cellmate, who had abused his sister, Munger years earlier

A resident of Washington, currently incarcerated due to a homicide conviction, has been handed an additional sentence of 298 months, equating to almost 25 years. This extended sentence follows the fatal stabbing of his fellow inmate, a man whom he discovered had previously assaulted his sister in the years gone by.

INCIDENT DETAILS

Upon the placement of Shane Goldsby by prison authorities into a cell with 70-year-old Robert Munger, he endured daily accounts wherein Munger described and boasted about his heinous criminal history. Munger, serving a life sentence for crimes including child molestation, rape, and possession of child pornography, revealed the gruesome details of his misdeeds. Goldsby, connecting the dots, realized that Munger was the individual responsible for the assault on his juvenile sister. Despite his outrage, Goldsby managed to maintain composure and requested a different cellmate. Regrettably, prison officials disregarded his plea, according to Goldsby. An inmate has received an additional 25 years behind bars for the killing of a cellmate who had assaulted his sister. Last August, 26-year-old Shane Goldsby brutally took the life of 70-year-old Robert Munger at the Airway Heights Correction Center. Surveillance footage depicted Goldsby kicking, punching, and stomping Munger's head in a communal area. Goldsby ended Munger's life, who was incarcerated for child sex crimes, purportedly because Munger taunted Goldsby with details of his sister's assault. Munger succumbed to his injuries several days later. After pleading guilty to second-degree murder and expressing remorse in court to Munger's family, Goldsby has been sentenced to over 24 years in prison. "I'm ashamed of my actions; I was placed in a situation that I wouldn't wish upon anybody," he conveyed in a statement read by his attorney in court. "I have a lot of mending to do." Munger was serving a 43-year sentence for child rape, child molestation, and possession of child pornography. Goldsby revealed that Munger had victimized Goldsby's younger sister years earlier. Goldsby, initially in prison for a stabbing incident, stealing a police car, and injuring a state trooper, was transferred from another state prison to Airway Heights on June 2, 2020, around 10:30 a.m. Detectives responded to a reported attack against Munger about two hours later. Goldsby informed KHQ News that he took Munger's life because his underage sister was one of Munger's victims. Despite discovering Munger's identity and requesting a different cellmate, Goldsby's plea was ignored. "I had so much going on in my head," he explained. "I wasn't stable at that point. I wasn't. I was getting to that point because (Munger) kept wanting to provide me with details about what happened, what he did—about the photos and the videos of him engaging in these activities. It was building up." Goldsby clarified that his intent was to harm Munger, not kill him, expressing a preference for Munger spending his entire life behind bars. State Department of Corrections officials stated that when housing assignments were made, there was no indication of a prior connection between Goldsby and Munger. Prison officials asserted they were unaware of any connection between Goldsby and Munger, with different last names preventing them from foreseeing the tragedy. Goldsby claimed he had requested a different cellmate in 2020, but the plea was dismissed. The Washington State Department of Corrections denied any wrongdoing, stating there was no way to prevent the murder due to a lack of knowledge about the connection between the two. Goldsby appended to his statement that his sole intention was to hurt Munger, not to end his life, expressing a desire for Munger to endure a lifetime of imprisonment. This, according to Goldsby, was the fitting punishment for the man deserving a lifetime of suffering.

In 2019, Goldsby underwent a transformation in his life and found solace in his faith. He emphasized that while he was not seeking vengeance, being placed in the same cell as the man who raped his sister was undeniably unjust. The man frequently recounted his criminal acts while sharing a cell with Goldsby, eventually leading to Goldsby's breaking point.