Man pleads guilty to killing wife on Uber ride in Queen Anne The couple was arguing in the car when the man shot his wife in the head, reports say

Photo: Marilyn Nieves, Getty Images/Vetta Cameron Espitia, 32, pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering his...

When Seattle cops caught up to 31-year-old Cameron Espitia across from the Safeway on Queen Anne Avenue North just after midnight on a July night last year, his suit was dirtied and he repeatedly asked how his wife was doing.

His wife, Jennifer Morrison Espitia, had just been shot in the head during an Uber ride after the couple attended a wedding. Medics rushed her to Harborview Medical Center, where she died of a single gunshot wound.

Cameron Espitia pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for his wife's slaying. He's set to be sentenced Dec. 7 and attorneys agreed to recommend a 19-year sentence to a judge.

Espitia, now a 32-year-old who had worked with the U.S. Coast Guard before his arrest, has been jailed on $3 million bail since his wife's July 2, 2017 death.

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The couple had just attended the wedding of Jennifer Morrison Espitia's high school friends in West Seattle and were headed to an after party when they hailed an Uber from the Courtyard Marriott on Westlake Avenue North in South Lake Union, reports indicated.

The driver picked them up and would later tell police that the couple immediately argued. Espitia, reportedly drunk at the time, sat in a back seat and Espitia Morrison sat in the front passenger seat. While Espitia told the driver to drop him off on Aurora Avenue North, his wife told him to ignore her husband and continue driving.

Prosecutors say they were arguing about whether to go home or to an after-party.

Espitia reportedly told his wife at one point to "go f--k yourself," reports say.

The driver said he then heard a loud "boom," which he initially thought came from a blown tire or object in the road, but he saw Morrison Espitia's head slump over and realized she'd been shot.

Fearing he'd be shot next, he asked Espitia where he would like to go, court records say. Espitia told him to drive and instructed him where to pull over and got out of the car somewhere in Queen Anne.

The driver drove one block and called 911 about 12:03 a.m. July 2.

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Medics took Espitia Morrison to Harborview Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 1:50 a.m.

Officers found Espitia in the 2100 block of Queen Anne Avenue North and asked him how he was doing. He reportedly claimed he was "having a bad night" and got into an argument with his wife. He admitted he had a concealed weapons permit and carried a pistol. He also identified his wife.

Cops noted "dirt and debris" on Espitia's suit, as well as dried blood on his right shoulder, and he claimed that he didn't recall what happened after he and his wife boarded an Uber, but reported he woke up in some bushes and started walking until he could find a phone to call his wife.

Cops took him to Seattle Police Department Headquarters. Espitia asked how his wife was, without explaining why he had reason to ask about her welfare, and claimed he didn't recall anything specific about the argument they had.

The gun Espitia possessed that night matched the caliber of the shell casing found in the Uber vehicle, according to Seattle police.

The standard sentencing range for Espitia's crime, coupled with his lack of felony history, is 15 to 23 years. Judge Susan Amini will determine whether to adopt the 19-year recommendation by attorneys.

SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at 206-448-8381 or lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here.