EVERETT — An Arlington man admitted Monday that he is responsible for killing Jessica Jones, a young mother who grew up in Marysville and on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Jones was shot in the head April 8, 2014, during an argument with her boyfriend, Daniel Rinker. She died the next day when life-support measures were removed. She was 25.
When detectives confronted Rinker, he denied that he pulled the trigger. Instead, he insisted that Jones was hit by gunfire from a passing car.
Arlington police detectives built their case against him, finding neighbors who heard yelling and then a single gunshot. A witness saw Rinker run from the garage and toss something into a nearby field.
Detectives found a silver revolver in some grass near where Rinker was spotted. The gun appeared to be the same revolver Rinker was holding in a picture posted on Facebook. No video surveillance showed a vehicle in the area.
Detectives were told that Rinker threatened Jones in the past. Police believe that Rinker was becoming paranoid that Jones would leave him if he went to prison again.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Millie Judge on Monday carefully questioned Rinker, 26, about his change of plea. He quietly admitted that he killed Jones.
Rinker faces nearly 30 years in prison when he’s sentenced in February. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Randy Yates agreed to recommend a 25-year sentence in exchange for the guilty plea.
The defendant has five prior felony convictions. The murder charge is his second strike under the state’s persistent offender law.
Rinker’s legal troubles may not be over. He remains charged with two counts of second-degree rape of a child.
Arlington police detectives were investigating the shooting when they allegedly uncovered evidence that Rinker was having a sexual relationship with an underage girl.
The girl reportedly told detectives the two had sex on multiple occasions, including after Jones was shot.
Prosecutors allege that Rinker told the girl, then 13, to get an abortion when she told him that she might be pregnant. He advised her to drink bleach and Pepto-Bismol, according to charging papers. The conversation happened while Rinker was in jail.
Inmate phone calls are recorded and a detective obtained a copy of a conversation during his investigation into the homicide.
That trial is scheduled to start in March.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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