A former Port Townsend woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a violent domestic assault in which prosecutors say she repeatedly struck her husband with a hatchet, leaving him with life-altering injuries.
Anna Young was sentenced Friday, Jan. 30, in Jefferson County Superior Court to 120 months in prison—including a deadly weapon enhancement—after a jury convicted her of first-degree assault for the November 2021 attack.
The sentence includes 36 months of probation following her release and a lifetime no-contact order barring Young from any future contact with the victim, prosecutors said.
Violent Assault Inside Home
The conviction stems from an early-morning assault on Nov. 2, 2021, in which Young attacked her then-70-year-old husband inside their home, according to court records and trial testimony.
Prosecutors said the victim suffered a skull fracture, deep head lacerations, a severed ear requiring reconstructive surgery, and a compound fracture to his finger—an injury medical staff described as consistent with a defensive wound. Evidence presented at trial showed the victim was struck approximately 20 times with the blunt end of a hatchet.
According to testimony, the assault followed a dispute over $60,000 that the victim had allowed Young to keep in her personal bank account. Prosecutors said Young transferred the money to family members to help purchase a home for her mother, then refused to show the victim the account balance when asked.
The victim testified that he awoke to Young telling him he was “in a dream” before the attack began, prosecutors said.
Escape and Emergency Response
The victim attempted to flee to the kitchen to call 911 but was pursued and repeatedly struck. He briefly fought back using a cast iron skillet before escaping to a bathroom, then a garage, where he retrieved a hammer and his car keys and drove himself to Jefferson Healthcare Hospital.
Officers with the Port Townsend Police Department responded to reports of a bloodied man carrying a hammer around 5:08 a.m., police said. Hospital staff contacted police shortly afterward to report the assault.
Investigators found extensive blood throughout the home and recovered the hatchet near the front door, according to prosecutors. Young had already fled the scene and could not be reached by phone.
Due to the severity of his injuries, the victim was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center for specialized treatment.
Impact on Victim
In a victim impact statement, the man told the court he can no longer play the guitar because of damage to his fingers and has required ongoing therapy to cope with the physical and emotional trauma. He also thanked law enforcement and prosecutors for pursuing the case.
The standard sentencing range for the conviction was 93 to 123 months, plus a mandatory 24-month deadly weapon enhancement. The 120-month sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime while accounting for factors presented at sentencing, prosecutors said.
Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy called the attack “horrific and unprovoked” and said the sentence protects both the victim and the community.
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