EVERETT — Forensic scientists found a large blood stain in the car of a Marysville man suspected of killing a disabled man and dumping his body on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
On June 19, a pedestrian found Steven Steadman lying face down in a ditch off of 14th Avenue NE. The 58-year-old had been shot in the back of the head. Detectives suspect that Steadman was killed for his pain medication.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged Michael Stowell, 30, with first-degree murder while armed with a weapon. He was being held at the Snohomish County Jail.
Stowell denied killing Steadman when he was questioned by police. He also denied being with the victim the day he was killed. He said they’d gotten into an argument two days earlier and wound up kicking Steadman out of his van. Stowell said Steadman left behind his wheelchair and backpack.
Steadman didn’t have any identification on him when his body was found but he had a keys in his pocket. There were customer loyalty tags from three stores on the key ring. Snohomish County detective Kendra Conley called one of the stores and employee was able to tell her the tag was in Steadman’s name.
Steadman’s children last saw their father on June 19, when his daughter took him to a pain clinic in Edmonds. Afterward he exchanged text messages with someone called “Mikey,” saying he was going to meet up with the man to collect $48 he was owed from a previous drug sale. The woman told detectives Steadman only source of income was through selling his prescription medications, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Bob Langbehn wrote.
Steadman told the woman “Mikey” was going to pick him up. She removed his wheelchair, crutches and backpack from her car. The slain man’s son told detectives his father came by his house later that afternoon. “Mikey” stayed in the car. Steadman didn’t stay long and told his son he’d be back soon.
Steadman’s children said they received text messages from their father’s phone June 20 and June 21. They didn’t know that Steadman was dead. They told detectives the tone of the messages changed and they suspected someone was using their father’s phone.
One message received June 21 instructed Steadman’s daughter to turn over her father’s medication to “Mikey.” She met with him outside a Safeway and gave him the drugs. The man had bleached his hair and told her he was taking his child on a trip to Disneyland.
The woman told detectives that a car at her father’s house was once owned by “Mikey.” Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Dave Fontenot searched the car’s registration history and learned that the car once belonged to Michael Stowell. The detective obtained a driver’s license photograph of Stowell and witnesses identified him as “Mikey,” Langbehn wrote.
Detectives searched Stowell’s house and found pill bottles bearing Steadman’s name. They also found several firearms. One gun case appeared to have blood on it. In a search of his car crime scene technicians found large blood stains under the driver’s seat and around the passenger seat. A partially-used bottle of bleach was found in the car, including rags that tested positive for the presence of blood, Langbehn wrote.
A witness told detectives that he helped Stowell throw Steadman’s wheelchair and backpack into a trash bin.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Twitter: @dianahefley
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