Camano Island woman returned to jail as murder charge expanded

By Brian Kelly

Herald Writer

COUPEVILLE — A Camano Island woman accused of killing her live-in boyfriend in 1997 was returned to jail Tuesday after entering a plea of innocent to expanded charges of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Linda H. Miley, 58, shot her boyfriend, Jack J. Pearson, five times with a .38-caliber pistol in the early morning hours of Dec. 19, 1997, and later told investigators Pearson was killed by a masked bandit who broke into his home on Vesper Way.

Police also said that Miley had taken $19,500 from a safe before running to a neighbor’s house to report the intruder. Pearson, the founder of a successful construction company, was 68 at the time of his death.

The case drew added attention after Miley was released from jail without bail to her family in December 2000.

This time, though, Miley was taken to the Coupeville jail after the hearing Tuesday. Bail was set at $50,000.

Island County prosecutor Greg Banks said the change in charges from second-degree to first-degree murder was one of the reasons he requested that Miley’s release order be revoked.

"She’s now facing considerably more prison time if she’s convicted, which gives her added incentive to flee or otherwise interfere with the judicial process," Banks said.

And just before a previously scheduled hearing on Aug. 24, Banks said Miley apparently tried to overdose on prescription medicine while at a Coupeville-area motel. Miley had left a typewritten note that said she wouldn’t get a fair trial from a "puppet prosecutor," and her life would be ruined even if she was found innocent, he said.

Banks added that he was worried Miley would take additional "drastic acts to basically avoid this trial" and asked the court to keep her in jail for the safety of herself and others.

Miley is also facing charges of first-degree theft, and the first-degree murder charge includes a deadly weapon enhancement penalty that would add time to her prison term if she is convicted. If Miley is found guilty of all the charges, she could be sentenced to about 32 years in prison.

A trial date has been set for Nov. 5.

You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.

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