Alisha Canales-McGuire Victim

Overview

Alisha Canales-McGuire was the victim in the case profiled in the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever, Season 1 Episode 4 ("Married to a Monster"). She was shot and killed in Everett, Washington in 2015 by a hitman hired by her sister Amanda Canales's estranged husband Kevin Lewis. Lewis was convicted of first-degree murder in Snohomish County Superior Court in 2021. The Worst Ex Ever episode examines how a domestic dispute escalated into a murder-for-hire that claimed the life of an innocent woman.

Life Before the Killing

Alisha Canales-McGuire lived in the Everett, Washington area, where she was close to her sister Amanda Canales and their extended family. According to court records and reporting by the Everett Herald, Alisha was not the intended target of the murder plot — Kevin Lewis had hired the gunman to kill Amanda, his estranged wife. Alisha Canales-McGuire's presence at the location where the shooting occurred was a tragic coincidence that resulted in a case of mistaken identity.

The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever presents Alisha Canales-McGuire's story with sensitivity, focusing on the impact her death had on her family and the community in Everett, Washington. Her life was cut short by violence that was never meant for her — a fact that made the true crime case particularly devastating for those who knew her.

The Mistaken-Identity Killing

In 2015, Kevin Lewis hired a hitman to murder his estranged wife Amanda Canales at her home in Everett, Washington. When the gunman arrived, he encountered Alisha Canales-McGuire instead of Amanda. Due to the mistaken identity, the hitman shot and killed Alisha. The killing shocked the Everett community and launched a complex investigation by Snohomish County law enforcement.

The circumstances of Alisha Canales-McGuire's death — killed in place of her sister by a hired assassin — represent one of the most disturbing cases featured in Worst Ex Ever. The Netflix true crime docuseries examines how the mistaken-identity element complicated both the investigation and the emotional aftermath for the Canales family.

The Investigation

The investigation into Alisha Canales-McGuire's murder was conducted by Snohomish County detectives in Everett, Washington. Investigators worked to establish the connection between the shooting and Kevin Lewis, tracing the murder-for-hire plot through financial records, communications, and witness testimony. The case took years to build, with Lewis not facing trial until 2021 — six years after Alisha's death.

The lengthy investigation reflected the complexity of proving a murder-for-hire conspiracy, particularly one involving intermediaries between the person who ordered the killing and the person who carried it out. The Netflix docuseries Worst Ex Ever details the investigative process and the challenges prosecutors faced in building their case against Lewis.

The Trial

Kevin Lewis was tried for the first-degree murder of Alisha Canales-McGuire in Snohomish County Superior Court in 2021. Prosecutors presented evidence of the murder-for-hire plot, establishing that Lewis had arranged and paid for the killing of his estranged wife — a plot that instead claimed Alisha's life due to the mistaken identity. A Snohomish County jury convicted Lewis of first-degree murder.

The conviction brought a measure of justice for Alisha Canales-McGuire's family after six years of waiting. The Worst Ex Ever episode documents the trial proceedings and the emotional impact of the verdict on the Canales family in Everett, Washington.

Family Advocacy

Following Alisha Canales-McGuire's death, her family — particularly her sister Amanda Canales — became advocates for domestic violence awareness. Amanda's testimony in the Netflix true crime docuseries Worst Ex Ever serves as both a memorial to Alisha and a warning about the dangers of intimate-partner violence escalation. The family's willingness to share their story publicly has contributed to broader conversations about the true crime cases featured in the series.

The Canales family's advocacy extends beyond the Netflix docuseries, with their case serving as an example of how domestic disputes can escalate to lethal violence against unintended victims. Out of respect for Alisha Canales-McGuire's family and consistent with this site's privacy policy, details about her private life are limited to what public reporting and court records have already established.

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