Marysville killing planned for days, man tells police

Published 1:02 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2009

MARYSVILLE — The man police arrested in the Tuesday morning killing of a 70-year-old Marysville woman reportedly told police he planned to kill the woman for days.

Appearing before an Everett District Court judge this afternoon, the Arlington man, 33, was ordered held on $1 million bail.

A police report identified the victim as Shirley Freeman.

The suspect allegedly told his mother, Freeman’s next-door neighbor, that he slit Freeman’s throat and put the knife he used in a garbage can, according to a police affidavit.

The man said he used a ruse to get into the neighbor’s house, then punched her and fatally stabbed her, according to the report by Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives.

The man police arrested allegedly said he had visited Freeman the night before the killing to smooth over a dispute about barking dogs, the report said.

What the suspect “knew in his mind was that he was going to kill Shirley at some point,” sheriff’s detective Patrick VanderWeyst alleged in the report.

After the killing, the suspect drove to his Arlington apartment to clean up and then returned to tell his mother what he’d done, the report said.

He reportedly told police he felt horrible about what happened.

The man’s mother said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and takes Lithium. The man said he hears voice and takes anti-psychotic medication to treat serious mental illness, according to court papers.

Police said the man should be considered a danger to himself and others.