Sex offender found slain in Marysville

1-25-2013 Washington:

An 82-year-old man was found dead in his Marysville home by a family member.

MARYSVILLE -- Police in Marysville are investigating the death of an 82-year-old man who was found early Friday morning in his ransacked travel trailer.

"What we have is a homicide investigation," Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

A family member discovered the man when he went to check on him early Friday. By early afternoon, police were asking for the public's help in locating the slain man's 2006 Chevrolet Colorado. The champagne-colored pickup truck, license B03681A, is believed to have been stolen.

"We are considering the occupants as being armed and dangerous and ask that the public do not try to intervene. We simply want them to call 911 to report the location of the vehicle," Lamoureux said.

Detectives were called to a home in the 9800 block of State Avenue about 3 a.m. Friday.

The first officers to the scene quickly determined the death was a likely homicide and called for detectives, Lamoureux said.

Police were not releasing the man's name pending notification of family and confirmation of identity by the Snohomish County medical examiner.

Late in the day they confirmed that the victim was a registered sex offender.

An 82-year-old man with convictions for statutory rape and indecent liberties was registered as living in the neighborhood where the homicide occurred.

According to the sex offender registry maintained by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, the man had convictions in the early 1980s for offenses against girls ages 8 to 14. While in prison, he was determined not to be a good candidate for sex offender treatment.



Detectives obtained a search warrant to enter the slain man's house and gather evidence.

"His trailer was ransacked, and it didn't appear like there was forced entry," Lamoureux said. "The family members said he was very neat. He kept it very tidy."

Police were able to see the victim from the entrance to his home.

"That's how we were able to determine that it is likely a homicide," Lamoureux said.

Crime scene technicians from the Washington State Patrol were assisting Marysville police in gathering evidence.

It's unclear when the man died. His family had not had contact with him for a couple of days.

The man lived in the Brookside Mobile RV Park for a few years, a neighbor said. The location is sandwiched between a supermarket on the east side of State Avenue and railroad tracks to the west.

Police set up orange traffic cones across the private 5 mph road that winds through the park.

John Giron, 70, has lived in the mobile home park since 2000.

He said the park once was designated for retirees, but has been opened to families in recent years.

With an older population, it has not been unusual for aid cars to be called to the neighborhood.

Waking up to police cars was surprising, Giron said.

"It has always been low-key," he said.

He said he saw the man who was killed just about every day, but didn't know him by name.

The victim had two pickup trucks and he washed them often, Giron said. He was surprised to learn the man's age.

"I knew he was an elderly person, but he didn't look that old," Giron said. "He's pretty active."

People on their way to work along State Avenue whizzed by the crime scene.

A few people stood on the sidewalk wondering why someone would hurt somebody so elderly.

John Kearns was out riding his scooter. He said the victim's age meant he was particularly vulnerable.

"It's sad," he said. "You can't even truly defend yourself. I can't believe someone would do that." ..Source.. by Eric Stevick

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Murdered sex offender’s truck found on fire

1-26-2013:

UPDATE: Marysville police say the murdered sex offenders Chevy Colorado truck was found Friday in Arlington — on fire!

MARYSVILLE — Marysville Police found an 82-year-old man, who’s a registered sex offender, murdered Friday morning.

No arrests have been made in the case, and very little is known about the suspects right now.

Police are looking for the victim’s stolen truck that looks like the one below:

2006 Chevrolet Colorado – champagne color
WA License #: B03681A

Police say if you spot the truck — stay away — and quickly call 911.

Just after 3am Friday, police were dispatched to a mobile home in the 9800 block of State Ave.

Once on scene, officers quickly determined the place had been ransacked, and the man had been murdered, so they called for detectives.

Police say that they are investigating whether robbery was a motive, since the man’s home had been ransacked. ..Source.. by David Rose

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Charges filed in stabbing death of Marysville man, 82

3-3-2013:

Prosecutors don't believe the killing of a Marysville man was motivated by his criminal past.

Instead, evidence indicates that Arthur Schroeder, 82, was stabbed to death in his trailer during a robbery.

Prosecutors on Friday charged two people with second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 24 killing.

They say the suspects, Delaney Henry and Robert Kennedy, admitted to several people that they killed Schroeder inside his small trailer. They also reportedly told people that they robbed Schroeder of about $200 and the key to a safety deposit box they believed held $20,000.

Henry, 28, allegedly told some people that she killed Schroeder because he raped her. She later told detectives that Schroeder propositioned her for sex in the past, but she denied that he ever sexually assaulted her, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Andrew Alsdorf wrote.

Schroeder was a convicted sex offender, but "there is no evidence that his prior convictions had any connection to his murder," court papers said.

Prosecutors also noted, however, that Schroeder enjoyed the company of "much younger adult women, to whom he would provide cash or prescription pills in exchange for sexual favors."

Henry was Schroeder's neighbor at the Brookside Mobile Home Park on State Avenue. She allegedly told detectives that she visited his trailer every other weekend.

Phone records indicate that Henry called Schroeder twice the day he was killed. The records also show that she called Kennedy. Video surveillance shows the suspects together on a bus the afternoon before the slaying. Henry was wearing a scarf similar to the one detectives found at the crime scene.

Schroeder's grandson told police he discovered his grandfather's body around 11 p.m. He said he'd gone there to borrow some money or alcohol. Once inside, he found the elderly man lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor. He didn't call 911 right away. Instead, he and a friend walked to a convenience store and later smoked some marijuana, Alsdorf wrote. He called police about four hours later after he brought his mother to the trailer, court papers said.

Schroeder had been stabbed four times. His heart had been pierced and his throat had been slashed.

His tidy trailer had been ransacked. His cell phone, wallet and a jewelry box were missing. Schroeder's truck was gone.

The pickup truck was discovered the next day abandoned in Arlington. Someone had torched it.

Detectives eventually heard from witnesses who reported that Henry had confessed to killing Schroeder, court papers said. Another witness told investigators that Henry and Kennedy showed up together the night of the slaying. They allegedly had blood on their clothes and were in possession of three bloodied knives. They also reportedly were sorting through some paperwork.

Police have since recovered the safety deposit box key and confirmed that it opens a box at a local bank. There wasn't $20,000 inside.

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. If convicted, Kennedy, 26, is facing a mandatory life sentence under the state's persistent offender act. He has prior convictions for robbery and attempted robbery. Henry faces up to 20 years if she is convicted.

Detectives continue to investigate Schroeder's death. Earlier this week, police arrested a Tulalip man who allegedly gave Henry a ride on the evening of a fatal stabbing. He allegedly threatened someone, warning the person not to talk to police about the homicide. ..Source.. by Diana Hefley

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Marysville, Wash., woman sentenced for role in fatal stabbing; taught unique knock

3-14-2014:

EVERETT, Washington — A Marysville, Washington, woman has been sentenced to 14 years for her role in setting up her 82-year-old mobile home park neighbor for a robbery that ended in his death.

The Daily Herald reports (http://is.gd/3IZWWp ) that Delaney Henry helped victim Arthur Schroeder with chores. Prosecutors say she taught convicted felon Robert Kennedy the unique knock that would have led Schroeder to believe that she was at his door on Jan. 24, 2013.

Henry pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder under the theory that she was an accomplice to the killing. Prosecutors allege that Kennedy repeatedly stabbed Schroeder during a methamphetamine-fueled robbery. Kennedy's trial is scheduled later this year.

At her sentencing Thursday, the 29-year-old woman apologized to Schroeder's family. ..Source.. by The Republic