EVERETT — Two days before a body was discovered behind Rucker tomb, a man went up a trail looking for tarps.
In the brush he saw a pair of feet. He ran away, fearing he’d been caught trespassing in the woods of Evergreen Funeral Home and Cemetery, off Broadway and 41st Street.
He came back around 3 a.m. Jan. 4, wearing a head lamp.
This time he inched closer to the spot where he’d seen the feet. He found a deceased man, on his back, tied to a tree by a white woven cloth belt. The other man left to tell two of his friends under a nearby bridge. They didn’t believe him, and went to see for themselves. Hours later, police were called that afternoon from the Everett Gospel Mission. A case manager saw a photo and identified the deceased as Michael Boone, 46, who stayed at the mission.
A man and a woman are now charged with first-degree murder for a plot that left Boone tied up in near-freezing temperatures, in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. The night before, it was 33 degrees. An autopsy showed he died of exposure.
Both of his wrists were bound to the tree.
“The tree was located at such an angle that Boone would have been unable to stand up or substantially change his position once bound,” the new court papers say.
Debris had been scattered around him. Police believe that’s a sign that he struggled to free himself. He’d been there for about three days.
According to the charges, Boone had been looking to pay someone for sex, and Darron Weidman, 40, told him he could sleep with his friend, Donita Burkley, for up to $200. Later, Weidman reportedly told police he worked as a “protector for the working girls.” That’s why Boone contacted him.
Weidman and Burkley, 33, planned to string him along to get him to rent a hotel room, so they could get out of the cold, court papers say.
Another person, Matthew McGowan, 26, overheard them talking near a Shell station. According to the others’ reports to police, he offered to join in the plan. The group went to an ATM, to verify that Boone had cash. They figured his Social Security check would be recently deposited. But when Boone checked his balance, he had just $6. He told the group he could still try to get cash. Secretly, McGowan suggested to Burkley and Weidman that they rob him for what he had, according to Weidman’s report. The trio agreed.
Burkley reportedly told Weidman to get a knife from his camp. He left, but never returned with a knife.
According to Burkley’s report, at the camp she wanted to sit down. Boone gave her his jacket and asked her to stay. As the two sat together, McGowan rushed in from behind and hit Boone with a piece of wood. McGowan put him in a chokehold until he passed out for a moment, according to Burkley.
Boone reportedly told McGowan that he didn’t want to die, and McGowan ordered him to strip off his clothes. Boone would not, because it was too cold. McGowan removed his clothes and checked the pockets for money, then tied up Boone with the white belt, the charges say. Boone died wearing only an undershirt, underwear and one sock. He’d suffered at least three injuries to his face from blunt force.
People who knew the trio heard rumors and contacted the police. Detectives booked Burkley into jail early Jan. 10. Later the same day McGowan was arrested. On his night stand at an Everett house, police found a letter addressed to Boone.
Burkley and McGowan were charged with murder. McGowan has a record of child rape, felony theft, burglary, drug offenses, unlawful possession of a firearm and failure to register as a sex offender.
Weidman was arrested in January, too, for investigation of first-degree robbery. He’s accused of accepting a phone that McGowan had stolen from Boone.
All three suspects remained in jail this week. Charges hadn’t been filed in Superior Court against Weidman.
Investigators spoke with a woman who knew both Boone and Burkley. She told police Boone was a gentle guy. Burkley reportedly confided in her that the plan had been to steal his Social Security money. But they’d only gotten away with $46.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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