Archive for September, 2011

Convicted Lewis County murderer died from heart problem and/or plastic bag over head

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Law enforcement concluded their investigation into the prison death of a former Lewis County man deciding it was a suicide.

Daniel W. Johnson, 54, was found dead in his cell with a plastic bag over his head at Stafford Creek Corrections Center near Aberdeen in July.

Johnson began his prison sentence in 1993, convicted of murder after a man and a woman were found stabbed to death in a home on Elk Creek Road near Doty. The victims were the resident, Paul Pilz, and his friend Eleanor Warden.

The Grays Harbor County coroner concluded the manner of death was undetermined, finding possible asphyxia and an irregular heartbeat, but the sheriff’s office said today they found several reasons to label it suicide.

Johnson had no defensive wounds, and according to his parents had mental issues and had tried to commit suicide before, Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office detective Sgt. Steven Shumate said.

“It’s a combination of a number of things, we’re very confident it’s a suicide and not a homicide,” Shumate said.

When Johnson was found by his cell mate the morning of July 27, he also had a cord around his neck, but no ligature marks from it, Shumate said.

Shumate said detectives learned Johnson rarely left his cell, and had collected some plastic bags even though the prison had stopped using them some time ago. It was a thin bag that was not secured around his neck, Shumate said.

Correspondence between Johnson and a relative of one of his victims also were looked at, Shumate said.

Johnson was serving a 27-year sentence following the December 1991 deaths in West Lewis County.

Johnson, then 34, had just been released from psychiatric treatment days earlier, and had a five-year psychiatric history, according to court documents.

Coroner Dan Burns said there was nothing to indicate homicide, but the cause of death was arrhythmia – even  though there was no disease that would explain it – and a significant condition was the asphyxiation due to the plastic bag.

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Read previous story from Saturday July 30, 2011, here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

ROLLOVER CRASH ON PEARL STREET BRIDGE

• A 67-year-old Tenino man escaped serious injuries when he swerved to miss either a possum or a cat and rolled his car on the bridge at the 1200 block of North Pearl Street in Centralia last night. Aid and police called about 11:35 p.m. found the Mitsubishi Mirage on its top but the driver had only minor injuries, according to Centralia police. He didn’t hit the animal and was not cited, police said.

SMASH AND GRAB

• Centralia police were called twice yesterday to vehicle prowls in which somebody broke out a side window to get inside. From the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue a purse was stolen and about two hours later a report was taken about a radar detector missing from a vehicle on the 1800 block of Harrison Avenue, according to the Centralia Police Department.

CAR SPRAY PAINTED

• Chehalis police were called yesterday morning to the 1400 block of Southwest Kelly Avenue where someone had spray painted the word “druggy” on a car during the night, with purple paint.

RED CROSS VAN TAMPERED WITH

• Somebody damaged a Red Cross van on the 1800 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis apparently trying to siphon gas from it, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

Read about homicide investigation in Elbe …

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An Elbe-area man was arrested overnight after he reportedly walked into a fire station and said he fatally shot another man on his property and hid the body, according to The (Tacoma) News Tribune.

Reporter Stacey Mulick writes detectives believe the victim is the suspect’s daughter’s boyfriend.

Read Mulick’s news item, here

Read about murder charge for Centralia mother of baby boy …

Monday, September 26th, 2011

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Olympian reports the Centralia mother of the 4-month-old  who died on Saturday has been charged with second-degree murder, with aggravating circumstances.

Rachel Bryan, 20, was arrested last week and her baby taken to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma with head injuries.

News reporter Jeremy Pawloski writes that four days before the infant was hurt, Child Protective Services began investigating if she was a fit mother.

Read Pawloski’s story here

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

Monday, September 26th, 2011

POLICE: CHILD CARRIED OUTSIDE BY NECK, BY BABYSITTER

• A 42-year-old Rochester man was arrested for second-degree assault after he allegedly picked a 10-year-old girl up by the neck – causing her to black out – and put her outside in the rain yesterday morning in Centralia. Christopher L. Dodson was babysitting her and other children on the 1100 block of Scammon Creek Road, according to the Centralia Police Department. Centralia Officer John Panco said the children were apparently being too loud and the girl argued about having to go outdoors. Panco said she fell limp to the ground, but regained consciousness and went back inside. A neighbor saw part of it and called police, he said. She was taken to the hospital to be checked but is doing okay, Panco said. Dodson was booked into the Lewis County Jail.

CENTRALIA WOMAN STRUCK BY CAR

• A 22-year-old Centralia woman was hospitalized after being hit by a car this morning on the 1200 block of Mellen Street near Borthwick Street. Police were called just before 6:40 a.m. to the accident involving a 37-year-old male driver from Centralia. The victim complained of head, neck and shoulder injuries which police described as minor and the fire department described as necessitating care by a paramedic instead of an EMT. She was taken to Providence Centralia Hospital. A police department spokesperson had no information on details of what happened or if the driver was cited.

THEFT

• A deputy was called Sunday to the golf course on Newaukum Golf Drive in Chehalis where someone overnight had stolen a golf cart from the pro shop. It was found submerged in a pond on the grounds, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• A deputy took a report yesterday from the 100 block of Meadowbrook Lane in Randle of the theft of 70 to 80 hydrochodone tablets. A potential suspect has been identified as a friend of a relative who had visited, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Centralia police were called just after noontime yesterday to a report of  burglary on the 700 block of Yew Street. A number of items including jewelry and DVs had been stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Police were called at 9 a.m. on Saturday to the 1100 block of Elm Street in Centralia about an attempted burglary. An alarm may have scared the intruder away as a sliding glass door was found open and several items were found stacked outside the home, according to police.

• A 1992 Buick LaSabre was reported stolen from the 4900 block of state Route 6 on Friday, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported today. The victim said it was in her driveway about 10 p.m. on Thursday. Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said the keys had been left on the floorboard and the car doesn’t lock. The car has a license plate of 030 TIZ.

• A bank bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash was reported stolen from an unlocked car on the 300 block of North Washington Avenue in Centralia yesterday morning.

• Chehalis police were called about 5:40 p.m. yesterday to the 600 block of Northwest State Avenue where someone was seen trying to break out the window of a vehicle. A 17-year-old Centralia boy was subsequently arrested for attempted vehicle prowl, according to police.

• A $600 metal detector as taken from a Salkum man’s truck parked at the Tacoma City Light parking lot on the 100 block of Beach Road at Mayfield Lake sometime between 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday while its owner was fishing, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VANDALISM

• A deputy took a report on Sunday of vandalism to a gate belonging to Port Blakely Tree Farms on the 900 block of Falls Road southeast of Glenoma. The damage is estimated at $2,000,  according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office

• Chehalis police were called about 11 p.m. on Friday to Southwest Gails Avenue to a report someone had just thrown a can of paint onto a car parked in a driveway. The victim was able to wash it off and had removed most of it by the time an officer arrived, according to police.

POSSIBLE SEXUAL ASSAULT

• Centralia police are investigating a report from a young woman in her early 20s who on Saturday told police she had passed out the night before at a party on the 3000 block of Russell Road and woke up with no clothes on. She didn’t remember much as she had been drinking, according to Centralia police.

Woman who leapt from van on I-5 identified as Jamie Jacaway

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Updated 5:44 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The woman who died after she jumped from a moving vehicle on Interstate 5 in Centralia on Friday night has been named as Jamie M. Jacaway, 27, of Chehalis.

Jacaway had been at the Grace Foursquare Church in Centralia and asked for a ride from someone there who was heading to Chehalis, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Robert Hicks offered and they got on the freeway at Harrison Avenue, and as they reached about milepost 80 traveling at ordinary freeway speed, Jacaway opened the passenger door and jumped out, according to the state patrol.

Hicks stopped immediately and no foul play is suspected, Trooper Ryan Tanner said.

Jacaway had ended up at the church on Borst Avenue as she had caught a ride with someone heading to a program there; she was trying to get to the women’s shelter.

Tammy Carr, director of the Friday night 12-step recovery event that was under way, said Jacaway was acting erratic and clearly not doing well. They tried to get her help, tried to get her to eat, but to no avail, Carr said. They attempted to get her to stay for the 12-step meeting but she didn’t want to come in, Carr said.

The finally called police about 7:15 p.m.

Carr said Jacaway had left and came back, and then kept trying to flag down people outside, stepping into the road.

“We knew we couldn’t keep her here, we were afraid she would get hurt, or something horrible would happen,” Carr said.

By the time an officer arrived, she had left in the van, according to police.

By about 7:50 p.m., police learned of the fatality on southbound Interstate 5.

Centralia Police Department Cmdr. Jim Rich said this afternoon he’s met Jacaway several times on the job.

“Most of the calls where I dealt with her on patrol were from concerned passersby or neighbors, asking please take a look and check on this woman,” Rich said.

She’s been in the community for quite some time.

“We’ve tried to hep her, and connect her with various agencies,” he said. “I wouldn’t even try to guess what the cause of it all was.”

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office is working with her mother and father who are making funeral arrangements, according to Chief Deputy Coroner Dawn Harris.

Breaking news: Human remains found in Randle

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Updated 10:26 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office revealed this morning yet another set of human remains were found in east Lewis County; on Thursday morning in Randle.

Detectives say its possible it could be a 57-year-old woman who disappeared from her home about a mile and a half away in April, but positive identification has not been made, according to the sheriff’s office.

Trisha McKenzie-Fire, who lived on Silverbrook Road with her boyfriend, left home about 3 a.m. on April 2, without her purse or car and hasn’t been seen since.

The sheriff’s office says the remains were found in a dry creek bed in a field by a property owner on the 100 block of Joerk Road.

It’s the third time human remains have been found in east Lewis County this year.

In early April, skeletal remains belonging to a female were discovered near Morton on the side of a logging road off U.S. Highway 12.  At the end of March, a partial skull was found in a wooded area near Mineral which turned out to belong to a Pierce County man missing since 1985.

In the Randle case, there was some clothing found as well, but the sheriff’s office isn’t saying if it matched that said to be worn by McKenzie-Fire when she went missing.

Part of the reason detectives think it could be her is the creek runs past McKenzie-Fire’s home and onto the Joerk Road property, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

The creek is dry now, but it wouldn’t have been in April, Brown said.

The remains will be sent to an expert at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in hopes of determining who it is and how they died, according to the sheriff’s office.

McKenzie-Fire’s boyfriend, Kent Anderson, said in April he had gone to bed and when he woke up, she was gone. At about 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., a friend, who was sleeping on the couch, saw her go outside with a cigarette, according to Anderson. The trio had been drinking whiskey that night, Anderson said.

He reported her missing that day.

Brown called it just a “death investigation” when asked if if there was any indication of foul play.

“(S)he walked off after the party, but what happened after that, we don’t know,” Brown said.

Brown said the boyfriend, Anderson, has since died of natural causes.

Last week, the sheriff’s office had a potential promising lead in learning the identity of the Morton remains, but a comparison of the dental records with a missing Pierce County female didn’t pan out, according to Brown.

The skeletal remains belong to a younger adult female of small stature and an examination by a specialist could not find a cause of death.

The sheriff’s office has released little information about that find, but have said it was doubtful the remains had been where they were found for very long, because it was a well-used logging road.

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Read “Randle woman missing for more than three weeks” from Monday April 25, 2011, here