EVERETT — A man accused of stabbing his parents and setting their Machias house on fire Jan. 14 told a deputy he believed they were possessed by demons and had attacked him, according to court papers.
Zachary R. Konicke, 29, was charged Friday with first-degree murder and first-degree arson.
The defendant’s father, Michael Konicke, 58, told investigators his son suddenly attacked the couple with knives, and then set the house on fire. He was repeatedly stabbed and slashed while trying to disarm his son and stop the flames from spreading, deputy prosecutor Francesca Yahyavi wrote in Snohomish County Superior Court papers.
Vicki Konicke, 58, died in the attack. Her body later was found inside the burned-out house.
The couple had raised champion Golden retrievers. A dog’s remains were found on the floor near the slain woman’s feet, the prosecutor wrote.
Deputies were alerted to problems at the home that evening by a series of 911 calls. The first call reported how Zachary Konicke had taken a car without permission. A few hours later came a call that he’d returned home with the vehicle and was “terrorizing” his parents with a knife. Minutes later, dispatchers were told that he’d set the home on fire.
The blaze began in a pile of firewood, wrapping paper and encyclopedias that had been heaped up near the top of a set of stairs leading to a loft. Investigators determined it likely took about 15 minutes from the time the materials were set alight for combustion gases to “flashover,” spreading flame throughout the house.
When crews arrived, Zachary Konicke was found outside the burning home. He had a broken heel from jumping from an upper story of the home.
“I tried to save them,” he reportedly said. “They were in bed and (I) couldn’t wake them up.”
A deputy tried to get inside to search for survivors. He was able to pull a dog from the burning home but was driven out by flames and smoke, Yahyavi wrote.
Michael Konicke was found outside the house, bleeding and burned. He told deputies that he’d had to battle both flames and his son, who stabbed and slashed him with knives and also attacked him with a mirror and a barstool.
Investigators learned that Zachary Konicke is a regular user of hallucinogenic drugs, including mushrooms and ecstacy. Earlier in the week he’d been voluntarily admitted to a King County hospital after he’d reportedly shaved his body hair and doused himself with gasoline, according to court papers.
Konicke’s parents arranged for him to come home with them.
The defendant required hospital treatment for injuries he sustained in the fire. Zachary Konicke reportedly asked to speak with the deputy who was standing guard outside his room.
He allegedly asked whether his mother’s body had been found and described attacking her in the kitchen, the prosecutor wrote.
“The defendant then went on to describe how he chased his father … with a mirror,” she wrote. “He stated that he thought his father was possessed by a demon in the past. The defendant stated that demons do not like mirrors, crosses or bibles. He went on to say that he put a mirror in front of the stairs that led to the loft in an effort to block demons.”
In the days before the attack, Zachary Konicke used social media to make a number of disturbing posts. His LinkedIn page included the phrase “Burn in hell” below his name and a photo. On Facebook, he wrote that “entertainment outside of nature and love is the work of the devil.”
The defendant remained jailed Friday on $1 million bail.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.
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