18 years later this Tri-City murderer still says he's innocent. He could be free in January

Brian Skinner grew up without a lot of money, so he burglarized homes as a teen believing “the shiny bells and whistles” would help him fit in.

Then, when he couldn’t provide for his own growing family as an adult, he turned to dealing drugs to improve his cash flow.

He admits he was a drug dealer and a burglar, but there’s one thing the 55-year-old Tri-City man won’t call himself — a murderer.

While Skinner was convicted in the 1979 bludgeoning death of Vicki Bridges in Richland, he stands firm that his only relationship with the 27-year-old mother of two was as a secret sex partner.

The detectives, the prosecutors, the jury all got it wrong, he says.

He feels terrible that it happened and he “wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” but is adamant he had no role in the killing.

On Thursday, Skinner was grilled by members of the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board about his past misdeeds, Bridges’ death and the steps he has taken while locked up to address his problems and prepare for an eventual return to society.

He has been in prison for almost 18 years on a 28-year sentence, and has earned one-third good time.

He could be paroled on Jan. 21. That’s the date previously set by the state board on his re-entry plan.

Chairwoman Kecia Rongen and member Jeff Patnode met with Skinner, his attorney and his counselor to determine if the offender is “fully rehabilitated and ready for release,” or if he needs more time.

The Herald was granted permission by the board to attend the one-hour session inside Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.

Rongen and Patnode did not make a decision Thursday. They will share their notes with the two other board members and notify Skinner’s counselor within a month.

Skinner, a father of four, says he is ready to be free.

He has been accepted into a faith-based mentorship program in the Tri-Cities, has some “good leads” on a job in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and has the financial and emotional support of family and friends.

“When I look back on some of the things I’ve done in the past, I just wish I could go back and apologize to some of those people,” Skinner said. “… I’ve just come to a point in my life, if I would have put one ounce of the effort into doing the right thing instead of doing the wrong, I could have been successful. … I’ve done wrong for so long that I’m tired of it.”

“I look at all my friends and family, they’re doing the right thing and it’s not that hard,” he added. “The whole world would be in prison if it were that hard.”

His counselor said he’s had no behavioral problems other than one minor infraction years ago, participated in therapeutic community programming and recently has held a job as an on-campus shuttle driver for employees moving between units.

Skinner was 17 when Bridges was killed in November 1979 in her ground-floor apartment.

The single mother had just moved to Richland three months earlier to work as a junior engineer for a Washington Public Power Supply System contractor.

Skinner claims he was at a “kegger” at her apartment complex and met her as she was doing laundry. He asked her if she wanted to have a beer, they started talking, and it went from there.

They had consensual sex between 10 to 20 times over a month, maybe. He didn’t tell anybody about their “relations,” claiming Bridges had made it clear she wanted to keep it quiet since he is black and she was white.

Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller has said Skinner’s story is complete nonsense.

He maintains that Skinner and another man were in the process of a burglary when they raped Bridges and then killed her with a two-by-four. Bridges’ two young kids were asleep in another room.

The case went unsolved for nearly 20 years, until advances in DNA technology linked Skinner to a semen stain on the bed where Bridges’ body was found.

Skinner was arrested, charged with first-degree murder and convicted by a jury.

His attorneys tried to discredit the DNA evidence, then argued it was consensual sex. But Miller and investigators questioned why they didn’t hear about the relationship before trial, since Skinner had been given several chances to explain and always denied knowing Bridges.

Miller said even though Skinner was tried in 1999, he had to charge him under the law that was in effect in 1979. That removed the option of aggravated first-degree murder, and meant that additional charges of rape and burglary would not have made a difference in his sentencing.

The prosecutor still believes that two people took part in the killing and that Skinner knows the name of his accomplice.

“If he could give us the name of the other person, we have the (other) DNA sample, would test it and hold that second offender accountable,” Miller said, referring to a second semen sample from the crime scene.

Skinner said Thursday that he was “floored” in 1979 when he learned Bridges was dead, but said Miller didn’t have the proof to place him at the scene and charge him.

After reading a recent letter from Miller strongly objecting to his early release, Skinner became upset that he was being labeled as a rapist when he was not convicted of that. He also claimed to be hurt that he was seen as “uncaring” because he admit to the murder.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t have remorse for all the drama, the crap … that I’ve done,” Skinner said.

Asked if he’s going to hurt people or continue to steal if let out, Skinner emphatically stated: “Oh no, I’m done.”

Miller on behalf of the victim’s sister, Susan Remer, said Skinner should only go free if he “has turned his life around, shown remorse for the brutal crime” and apologizes for depriving Bridges’ two children of their mother.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 8:31 PM with the headline "18 years later this Tri-City murderer still says he's innocent. He could be free in January."