Marysville woman slain; neighbors’ son arrested
Published 10:41 pm Tuesday, June 2, 2009
MARYSVILLE — A dispute over a barking dog may have played a role in the death of a 70-year-old Marysville woman Tuesday morning.
The killing is being investigated by major crimes detectives from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
A 33-year-old Arlington man, the son of the victim’s neighbors, has been arrested and was expected to be jailed for investigation of first-degree murder, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
The man’s mother called police about 9:35 a.m. to report the death at a home in the 5100 block of 109th Place NE, Hover said.
A sheriff’s deputy found the woman dead with “an injury to the neck,” Hover said. The man was arrested without incident in his parents’ driveway.
Detectives waited for a search warrant Tuesday to enter the dead woman’s home.
Man trackers with Snohomish County Search &Rescue helped detectives by looking for and examining any possible footprints in the victim’s house that might be related to the crime, Hover said.
The dead woman’s identity has not been released. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner plans an autopsy.
Monday night, deputies were called to the victim’s home about a dispute over a barking dog, Hover said.
“They felt they had resolved that,” she said.
There are several dogs in the neighborhood, and it wasn’t immediately clear which dogs provoked the Monday night complaint.
The victim lived by herself with a German shepherd and two cats. The animals were expected to be picked up by county animal control officials today.
Hover said the suspect had been visiting his parents’ home Monday night.
Officials do not believe the man who was arrested was involved in the dispute over the dog but they are investigating whether the incident played a role in the killing.
Many people living in the neighborhood turned reporters away Tuesday afternoon. They were busy grappling with violence so close to home.
The few who spoke said neighbors know each other, often wave and gather each summer for a community block party.
That’s where neighbor John Fuller said he met the victim last summer.
“She was a nice woman. That’s all I know,” he said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
