Published: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Arlington brothers’ fight led to death, police say
An Arlington man is in jail after he allegedly shot his brother after many disagreements, the most recent about cattle.
ARLINGTON — A long-standing feud between brothers ended in bloodshed on an Arlington farm over the weekend.
Detectives believe the latest dispute between the Hillis brothers was over cattle.
Mark Hillis, 47, is in jail under investigation of second-degree murder. His older brother John Hillis Jr., 52, was found dead Saturday outside their mother’s house on the property the family has farmed for more than 100 years.
The men’s mother told investigators that her older son came to talk to her about moving some cattle from one area of the property to another, according to a police affidavit filed Monday.
John Hillis took over management of the farm after his uncle died and his father suffered a stroke, court papers said. He lives down the road from his mother. Mark Hillis moved in with his parents about a decade ago.
The brothers got into a fight. Their mother told investigators that her younger son retrieved a gun from his bedroom and fired a warning shot into the ceiling. John Hillis was trying to get out of the house when he was shot, court records said.
Their mother told investigators she thought her younger son shot her older son. She later told investigators that she thought Mark Hillis fired two warning shots and John Hillis slipped on the porch and hit his head, according to the police affidavit.
Paramedics found a bullet hole in John Hillis’ back.
Mark Hillis appeared briefly Monday in Everett District Court. Several neighbors and family members told investigators they were worried that his mother would bail him out of jail, and they feared for their safety, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Brad Pince wrote. Hillis was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Court papers document years of bad blood between the brothers.
John Hillis accused his brother of being behind a lawsuit that their mother filed against him last year. She said John Hillis was attempting to steal land from her, logging the property without her permission and digging holes in the farm roads.
Both brothers accused each other of manipulating their mother, 80.
John Hillis accused his younger brother of physically assaulting their mother for years. She sought a restraining order against Mark Hillis in 2005 after he ripped the door off her oven and threatened her, court papers said.
“My brother Mark Hillis has undue animosity towards me and is an angry and violent person. He has an uncontrollable temper leading to violence against me, my mother and others,” John Hillis wrote in court papers. “Mark wants me off the farm property and is doing everything he can to accomplish that including using threats, physical abuse and intimidation against my mother to accomplish that.”
Other siblings also accused Mark Hillis of abusing their mother and taking advantage of her, according to court documents.
Mark Hillis disputed the claims against him. He in turn accused his older brother of trying to bilk his mother out of her land and money.
A month after the lawsuit was filed against John Hillis, another brother asked a judge for a protection order against Mark Hillis on behalf of their mother. The petition indicated that their mother was being manipulated and mistreated by Mark Hillis.
She opposed the protection order. A judge determined that she was able to care for herself and was not incapacitated under the law. The petition was thrown out.
The lawsuit against John Hillis went to trial a few months later.
A Snohomish County judge found in favor of John Hillis and ruled that his mother legally gave the land to her son as a gift and hadn’t been swindled out of the property. The court, however, also found that John Hillis “behaved rather badly” during the course of the lawsuit and ordered him to not interfere with his mother’s property.
“The Court is always saddened when family relationships are compromised to the extend they became here, and hopes the ending of the lawsuit will allow the parties to repair their relationship,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair wrote in January.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Detectives believe the latest dispute between the Hillis brothers was over cattle.
Mark Hillis, 47, is in jail under investigation of second-degree murder. His older brother John Hillis Jr., 52, was found dead Saturday outside their mother’s house on the property the family has farmed for more than 100 years.
The men’s mother told investigators that her older son came to talk to her about moving some cattle from one area of the property to another, according to a police affidavit filed Monday.
John Hillis took over management of the farm after his uncle died and his father suffered a stroke, court papers said. He lives down the road from his mother. Mark Hillis moved in with his parents about a decade ago.
The brothers got into a fight. Their mother told investigators that her younger son retrieved a gun from his bedroom and fired a warning shot into the ceiling. John Hillis was trying to get out of the house when he was shot, court records said.
Their mother told investigators she thought her younger son shot her older son. She later told investigators that she thought Mark Hillis fired two warning shots and John Hillis slipped on the porch and hit his head, according to the police affidavit.
Paramedics found a bullet hole in John Hillis’ back.
Mark Hillis appeared briefly Monday in Everett District Court. Several neighbors and family members told investigators they were worried that his mother would bail him out of jail, and they feared for their safety, Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Brad Pince wrote. Hillis was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Court papers document years of bad blood between the brothers.
John Hillis accused his brother of being behind a lawsuit that their mother filed against him last year. She said John Hillis was attempting to steal land from her, logging the property without her permission and digging holes in the farm roads.
Both brothers accused each other of manipulating their mother, 80.
John Hillis accused his younger brother of physically assaulting their mother for years. She sought a restraining order against Mark Hillis in 2005 after he ripped the door off her oven and threatened her, court papers said.
“My brother Mark Hillis has undue animosity towards me and is an angry and violent person. He has an uncontrollable temper leading to violence against me, my mother and others,” John Hillis wrote in court papers. “Mark wants me off the farm property and is doing everything he can to accomplish that including using threats, physical abuse and intimidation against my mother to accomplish that.”
Other siblings also accused Mark Hillis of abusing their mother and taking advantage of her, according to court documents.
Mark Hillis disputed the claims against him. He in turn accused his older brother of trying to bilk his mother out of her land and money.
A month after the lawsuit was filed against John Hillis, another brother asked a judge for a protection order against Mark Hillis on behalf of their mother. The petition indicated that their mother was being manipulated and mistreated by Mark Hillis.
She opposed the protection order. A judge determined that she was able to care for herself and was not incapacitated under the law. The petition was thrown out.
The lawsuit against John Hillis went to trial a few months later.
A Snohomish County judge found in favor of John Hillis and ruled that his mother legally gave the land to her son as a gift and hadn’t been swindled out of the property. The court, however, also found that John Hillis “behaved rather badly” during the course of the lawsuit and ordered him to not interfere with his mother’s property.
“The Court is always saddened when family relationships are compromised to the extend they became here, and hopes the ending of the lawsuit will allow the parties to repair their relationship,” Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair wrote in January.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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