Murder charge is filed on boyfriend

Published 10:49 pm Tuesday, January 12, 2010

EVERETT — Eric Christensen was locked behind bars for more than a decade for violence against an ex-girlfriend.

Late one night in 1994, he stood at a Seattle bus stop, aimed a rifle at the woman’s friend and fired. He missed, loaded his rifle again and fired a second time. Then he shot at his ex-girlfriend. She and her friend were able to escape without being hit by the gunfire.

Christensen was arrested after Seattle detectives saw him climbing over a fence, carrying a rifle in a case.

“People shoot people where I am from when a girlfriend cheats on you,” Christensen told the arresting officers.

Prosecutors now believe Christensen is responsible for more violence against a woman he once dated. This time, Christensen carried out murder, investigators allege.

Christensen was charged Tuesday in Everett District Court with second-degree murder in the death of Sherry Harlan, 35. He is being held on $2 million bail.

Detectives focused on Christensen early in their investigation into Harlan’s disappearance after her co-workers and neighbors reported that she told them that her boyfriend had beaten her and she was afraid he’d kill her if she broke up with him, police said.

Detectives searched Harlan’s south Everett apartment Wednesday. They found blood in numerous locations despite someone’s attempt to clean the place with bleach. There also were cuts through a futon mattress and others signs of a violent struggle.

Detectives later searched an apartment near Gold Bar where Christensen lives and found shoes with a sole pattern that matched a bloody shoe print left in Harlan’s apartment, according a police report. They also found a pair of blood-soaked jeans.

Christensen told police he hadn’t seen Harlan, her car or her dog, Roscoe, since the former couple had an argument Jan. 2.

Harlan’s burned-out car was found Thursday night near a gravel pit outside of Gold Bar. Investigators discovered partial human remains inside the Nissan Sentra.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to be conclusively identify the remains.

Circumstances, however, indicate that they likely belong to Harlan, authorities said.

It’s her car, there was blood evidence in her apartment and Harlan hasn’t been heard from since Jan. 2, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said. The remains don’t fit the description of any other missing person, he added.

“All of that leads one to conclude those are her remains,” Matheson said.

Prosecutors have until Jan. 29 to refile the murder charge in Superior Court.

Christensen was in Superior Court Tuesday on a separate matter. He was charged on Monday with failure to register as a sex offender. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Christensen, a level one sex offender, reported in June 2008 that he was homeless. The law required him to check in weekly with the sheriff’s office since he didn’t have a fixed address. He hadn’t reported to the sheriff’s office since August, court papers said. He was arrested in November for failing to register and was jailed until Dec. 11. Released, he didn’t check in with the sheriff’s office, police said.

Christensen was convicted of sexual abuse in 1990 in Oregon. He was on parole for that offense at the time of the Seattle shooting.

He told detectives he was trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and her friend.

“I missed because the sights to the rifle were off,” he said. “I was on what my ancestors call a ‘blood run.’ ”

Christensen was convicted of two counts of first-degree domestic violence assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was locked away until August 2006.

After being released, Christensen was supervised by parole officers in Monroe through July 2008. Records show he was called before a corrections hearing for failing to participate in counseling in August 2007 and for not paying court-ordered legal and financial obligations.

In 2008, a Monroe woman asked a judge for a protection order against him. She said she had dated Christensen and they had a child together. She alleged that Christensen had threatened to hurt her and once held a knife to her throat.

He told her he was just joking. The woman reported she was scared for her life.

Reporter Jackson Holtz contributed to this report.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.