Body found in Everett motel ruled homicide

Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 7, 2005

EVERETT – The death of a man whose body was found in an Everett motel room has been ruled a homicide, the Snohomish County medical examiner said Friday.

Kaare Morgan Johnson, 22, of Everett died of a single gunshot wound to the head, the medical examiner reported.

His body was found inside the Everett Motel at 1115 Broadway on Oct. 6 after a witness called police to report that several children had crawled out of a window in his motel room.

One of the children allegedly yelled for her mother to hurry, and all of them ran north in the alley, according to a search warrant filed in Everett District Court in October.

The motel manager called police, and officers found Johnson and a revolver nearby, court documents say. The room was registered to a woman, documents say.

The medical examiner was waiting on toxicology tests before making a final determination about the cause of Johnson’s death, Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.

“There was some debate about whether there was a struggle involved or what the circumstances were,” Bryant said.

Everett detectives have investigated Johnson’s death as if it were a homicide, Bryant said. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information about Johnson’s death is asked to call the Everett Police Department tip line at 425-257-8450.