Slain Marysville woman had court order against man sought by police

Published 5:10 pm Tuesday, June 9, 2009

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville woman who was found dead in her home Monday once filed a protection order against one of the men police say may be connected to the slaying.

The woman in September told a Snohomish County judge she was afraid of Joshua Gilliam, her granddaughter’s ex-boyfriend, according to the protection order.

Marysville police today said they were hunting for Gilliam, 25, and Ryan Miller, 22. The two men were seen on a video surveillance at a Snohomish County store where one of the homicide victim’s credit cards was used sometime over the weekend. Gilliam currently is a suspect in the fraudulent use of the victim’s credit cards, police said.

Gilliam, a convicted sex offender, used to live with the victim and her adult granddaughter, according to court documents.

Detectives would like to determine the men’s level of involvement, if any, in the slaying, Marysville Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said. Police released still photographs of the surveillance tape, asking for the public’s help to find the men.

The men may be driving a red 1998 Buick Century. The car was spotted early Sunday in Butte, Mont. Neighbors say the victim owned a car matching that description.

Police consider Gilliam a “person of strong interest,” Lamoureux said today.

The victim, 73, asked a judge in September to prohibit Gilliam from contacting her granddaughter, 24, whom he had been dating. The younger woman’s mental health problems made her incapable of caring for herself, and the victim had been appointed as her guardian. The victim alleged that Gilliam had coerced her granddaughter to steal and to give him money to buy drugs. She also alleged that Gilliam assaulted her granddaughter. Her granddaughter was opposed to the protection order because “she is afraid of being alone,” the older woman wrote in court documents.

The woman explained in the petition that she was appointed as her granddaughter’s guardian in 1999. The granddaughter had lived with her since she was 4. A guardian ad litem told a judge that the woman’s “grandmother is her only constant source of support and success in her life,” according to court documents.

Court records show that Gilliam was dating the victim’s granddaughter and lived with them beginning in 2003. At the time he was undergoing sex offender treatment after being convicted in 2000 of sexually assaulting a young relative. Gilliam was diagnosed as having schizophrenia, according to court documents.

Gilliam was charged in January with drug possession after he was caught with needle and syringe full of heroin, court records show. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two months in jail. He also has convictions for violating a no-contact order, assault and displaying a weapon, according to court documents.

Miller also has a criminal history, including numerous misdemeanor assault convictions. Most recently he pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted theft after he stole a safe full of jewelry from a woman who let him live in a tent on her property. Miller, who was a ward of the state and spent time in group homes, also has been diagnosed with mental health problems. While he was in jail in 2007, a counselor reported that he stripped himself naked and crawled under the bed in his cell. He also fouled his cell with urine and feces, court papers show.

Washington State Patrol crime scene investigators and Marysville police continued today to search the victim’s home for evidence. The road remained blocked off to traffic.

Officers were called Monday morning to the slain woman’s home in the 7100 block of 70th Avenue NE. She was the victim of violence, police said.

Neighbor Julie Griffith often heard loud arguments coming from the home. Last summer, Griffith’s father was visiting and painting the exterior when he too heard raised voices coming from the home.

“It’s scary, Griffith said. “I don’t feel like it’s somebody random going around doing these horrible things.”

Still, she said she reminded her teenage boys to stay safe.

“I hope they find whoever did it,” she said.

A few doors down, Barbara Prajzner said she recognized Gilliam’s face. She saw him about a month ago taking garbage cans out from the same house where police on Tuesday still were working to collect evidence.

While she didn’t know the woman who lived there well, “She seemed like a nice lady,” Prajzner said.