Man who killed ex, 2 others at party: "Satan was in control"

EVERETT, Wash. -- A young man who shot and killed three people at a house party in July near Seattle has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Allen Ivanov pleaded guilty last month to three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder for wounding two other victims. He did so one day before a prosecutor was to announce his decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

Ivanov was charged with the killings of Anna Bui, Jacob Long and Jordan Ebner, who were all 19.

Investigators say Ivanov attacked the July 30 gathering in the small city of Mukilteo because he was upset that his former girlfriend Bui, who he referred to as his “dream girl,” seemed to be moving on after their breakup. The two were both students at the University of Washington, reported KIRO.

Ivanov apologized before Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis as she sentenced him Thursday, but blamed the shootings on “Satan,” the station reported.

“Satan was in control,” Ivanov said. “I’ve replayed the events over and over. How could I have done this?”

Ivanov had bought the assault-style weapon about a week before the attack, and court documents say he was so unfamiliar with the weapon he read the instruction manual before the killings.

Court documents indicate Ivanov gave a few indications of his troubling intent: He texted someone a week before the attack “regarding committing a mass shooting.”

Relatives of the victims expressed anger and sorrow in the courtroom.

“There is no way to undo the irreparable harm and to bring back the precious lives,” Paul Kramer, the father of a victim who survived, said in court, according to KIRO. “To add insult to injury he shows no remorse. In fact he takes pride in his crime.”