Everett

Overview

Everett is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, located approximately 30 miles north of Seattle along Puget Sound. As the county seat of Snohomish County, Everett is home to the Snohomish County Courthouse where Kevin Lewis was tried and convicted of first-degree murder in 2021. The case featured in the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever, Season 1 Episode 4 ("Married to a Monster") unfolded here: after his marriage to Amanda Canales fell apart, Kevin Lewis hired a hitman to kill Amanda's sister, Alisha Canales-McGuire. Lewis was convicted of first-degree murder in Snohomish County in 2021.

City Context

Everett is the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, with a population of approximately 112,000 residents. The city serves as the county seat and is a major employment center in the Puget Sound region, home to Boeing's widebody aircraft manufacturing facility and the Naval Station Everett. The city's downtown area along Colby Avenue and the surrounding residential neighborhoods form the urban core where the events of the Kevin Lewis case unfolded.

Everett's law enforcement is handled by the Everett Police Department, with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office providing additional coverage in unincorporated areas. The city's proximity to Seattle and its position as a regional hub mean that serious crimes receive significant media attention — as was the case with the murder-for-hire that claimed Alisha Canales-McGuire's life.

Snohomish County

Snohomish County encompasses Everett and the surrounding communities in northwestern Washington state. The county's judicial system is centered at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett, where Kevin Lewis was tried for the first-degree murder of Alisha Canales-McGuire. The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever references the Snohomish County court system as the jurisdiction that ultimately held Lewis accountable for the murder-for-hire conspiracy.

The Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office handled the case against Kevin Lewis, building the murder-for-hire conspiracy case over several years before bringing it to trial in 2021. The county's criminal justice system processed one of the most complex domestic-violence-related murder cases in its recent history.

The Lewis Case

The murder-for-hire case that forms the basis of the Worst Ex Ever episode took place in Everett, Washington in 2015. Kevin Lewis hired a hitman to kill his estranged wife Amanda Canales, but due to a case of mistaken identity, the gunman killed Amanda's sister Alisha Canales-McGuire instead. The killing shocked the Everett community and launched a years-long investigation by Snohomish County detectives.

The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever presents the Everett case as one of the most devastating murder-for-hire plots in the series, examining how a domestic dispute escalated to calculated violence that claimed an innocent life. The true crime episode details the investigation and the 2021 trial that resulted in Lewis's conviction at the Snohomish County Courthouse.

Connection to Worst Ex Ever

Everett, Washington's appearance in the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever stems from its role as the location of the 2015 murder-for-hire and the subsequent 2021 trial of Kevin Lewis. The Worst Ex Ever episode uses the Everett setting to examine how domestic violence can escalate to lethal action and how the consequences extend far beyond the immediate relationship.

The Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever presents Everett as a community where a murder-for-hire conspiracy devastated a family and where the Snohomish County justice system ultimately delivered accountability — though only after six years of investigation and legal proceedings. The true crime episode has contributed to public awareness of the case and its implications for domestic violence prevention in Everett, Washington and beyond.