Updated on 8/21/24 at 7:00 p.m.
Seattle Police detectives and SWAT operators arrested the 48-year-old Madison Valley homicide suspect near his residence in Capitol Hill this morning.
Following latent fingerprint evidence recovered at Brighton Playfield, homicide detectives located the suspect’s residence not far from where the victim was killed. Multiple detectives conducted surveillance in the area and tracked the man as he was walking outside.
At about 10:30 a.m., the SWAT team was deployed to take the suspect into custody.
He was transported to Seattle Police Headquarters and interviewed by detectives. Police recovered a knife with blood on it and keys to the stolen vehicle. They have been collected as evidence.
The suspect was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Homicide and Investigation of Animal Cruelty.
Homicide detectives requested charges for Murder in the 1st Degree under the felony murder rule, Assault in the 2nd Degree, and Animal Cruelty in the 1st Degree.
Updated on 8/20/24 at 4:32 p.m.
At 3:05 Seattle Police responded to a report from Seattle Animal Control that the deceased woman’s dog was located in a recycling bin within Brighton Playfield near the 3900 block of South Juneau Street. The dog had been stabbed to death with a knife.
Responding officers located the victim’s unoccupied blue Subaru Forester nearby that was stolen during the earlier carjacking and homicide in the Madison Valley neighborhood.
The suspect fled the area and was not located.
Patrol officers cordoned off the area. Detectives with the Homicide and Crime Scene Investigation Units responded to process the crime scene. The vehicle was taken to the Vehicle Processing Room for further evidence collection.
Posted on 8/20/24 12:28 pm
Seattle Police detectives are investigating a homicide in the Madison Valley neighborhood this morning.
At 9:55 a.m., patrol officers responded to reports of a carjacking near Martin Luther King Junior Way East and East Harrison Street. When officers arrived, they located an adult woman in the middle of the street. A bystander was performing CPR on the victim.
The Seattle Fire Department arrived on scene and continued medical treatment. Despite all life-saving efforts, she was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Police determined that the woman was a neighborhood dog walker. During the carjacking and struggle, she was dragged by her car and mortally wounded.
Multiple bystanders attempted to intervene, but they were unsuccessful.
The suspect fled the area in her stolen vehicle and was not located. Seattle Police are actively searching for him. No arrests have been made at this time.
Officers cordoned off the area until detectives with the Homicide, Crime Scene Investigation, and Traffic Collision Investigation Units arrived to process the crime scene.
Detectives with the Homicide Unit have been assigned to this investigation.
If anyone has information, please call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Crime Stoppers never asks your name, and you can remain anonymous.
#2024-234331/East Precinct/First Watch (Carjacking, Homicide)
#2024-234650/South Precinct/Second Watch (Vehicle Recovery, Animal Cruelty)