Sentencing set in murder of Whidbey man

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 3, 2026

A woman who killed Whidbey Island handyman Thomas Flood and dumped his body in 2021 is scheduled to be sentenced in Whatcom County Superior Court on March 10.

A jury found 67-year-old Lynda Mercy, a resident of the Fairhaven area of Bellingham, guilty of murder in the second degree with a firearms enhancement following a month-long trial that ended last week.

Whatcom County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Erik Sigmar said in an interview that Mercy, who doesn’t have a felony criminal history, faces a standard sentencing range of 123-220 months in prison, plus an additional mandatory five years because of the firearm enhancement. The midpoint of the sentence range, he noted, is just over 19 years.

During the trial, Sigmar presented evidence that Mercy shot and killed 67-year-old Flood near the Coupeville ferry dock, where he regularly parked the van he lived in. She then drove his van to Semiahoo Spit in Blaine and dumped his body before leaving the van in Fairhaven. Flood was shot twice in the torso.

Flood was known as a South Whidbey resident who worked odd jobs. Sigmar said his family members and friends are expected to provide victim impacts statements at the sentencing hearing.

Sigmar said he didn’t have to prove motive as an element of the charge. Court documents and trial testimony, however, show that Mercy may have been trying to find a way home from the Coupeville ferry terminal in Central Whidbey. Mercy, who didn’t have a car, briefly got inside a different vehicle at the dock before approaching Flood’s van.

A witness at a nearby restaurant saw Flood arguing with Mercy the day before his body was discovered.

Sigmar said the complicated case was built on circumstantial evidence, including cell phone data and surveillance video from various businesses.

Detectives searched the area next to the ferry where Flood had parked his van to sleep and found a Sellier & Bellot .40-caliber casing. Mercy had purchased a .40-caliber pistol in December 2020 and had posted a photograph of a box of Sellier & Bellot .40-caliber ammo on her Instagram account, according to a police report.

Mercy’s attorneys didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to start at 8:45 a.m.