Body found in dumpster in Everett

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, August 20, 2006

EVERETT – The body of a dead woman may have been kept for days in a closet before it was found early Sunday in a dumpster in a north Everett alley.

Police have arrested a man, 25, in connection with the death.

A neighbor said a person connected with the case told him the dead woman’s body was kept in a closet in a home in the 2600 block of Rockefeller Avenue for days before it was moved to the dumpster.

Jason Grime, who lives a few houses away from the discovery, said he heard the details from a man whose wife called police Sunday morning to report that she’d been asked to help dispose of the woman’s remains.

“It’s creepy,” Grime said.

A woman called 911 about 2:20 a.m. to report that a friend had asked her to help him move a body from his house to a dumpster in the alley, Everett police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.

Officers found the dead woman’s body inside the dumpster a short time later. Police confirmed she had been dead for an extended time.

The body likely had been placed in the dumpster sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning, Bryant said.

At about 5:30 a.m., investigators arrested a man at a nearby residence where he rents an apartment, Bryant said. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail on Sunday for investigation of second-degree murder.

“Because of the manner in which the body was disposed, we’re treating it as foul play,” Bryant said.

It was unclear how the woman died. Bryant wouldn’t say whether there were obvious signs of trauma. The Snohomish County medical examiner is expected to do an autopsy.

The woman’s identity was not immediately released. Bryant said he didn’t know whether anyone had been reported missing in the area.

Police believe the suspect and victim knew each other, but the nature of their relationship was unclear, Bryant said.

“We don’t believe this is a stranger situation,” he said.

Some neighbors were asked to leave their houses while police combed the alley for evidence. Residents were allowed to return to their homes as the investigation continued into the afternoon.

Neighbors said the suspect lived in an upstairs apartment at a house in the 2600 block of Rockefeller Avenue.

Four of the houses on the block, including the one where the suspect lived, are scheduled to be torn down to make way for construction of a five-story, 40-unit condominium building.

Some neighbors said they have lived there only a short time and don’t know the suspect or others in the house.

“It’s kind of scary, actually,” said neighbor Sheila Noisey, who recently moved to the block from Mount Vernon. “My children always play out there.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the police tip line at 425-257-8450.