By Scott North
Herald Writer
An Everett-area man admitted responsibility for the brutal Dec. 11 killing of Gail Jubie, but he later retracted the statement during questioning, a Snohomish County detective testified Wednesday.
Brandon Kenneth White, 20, of Everett is scheduled to go on trail Oct. 29, charged with aggravated first-degree murder. Wednesday’s testimony came during a pre-trial hearing before Superior Court Judge Linda Krese, who will decide whether White’s alleged statements will be heard by jurors.
Prosecutors allege White showed up at Jubie’s home along Sunnyside Boulevard in east Everett wearing a business suit and intent on robbery. Jubie was repeatedly stabbed and shot, and neighbors who heard the violent killing spotted a man running from the scene, dressed in a suit.
White was arrested after officers followed a trail of footprints on the frost-covered ground from Jubie’s home to the home of White’s parents two houses away.
Detectives found blood-splattered clothing in the home and also noticed that White was wearing a bloodstained baseball cap, carrying a bloodstained backpack, wearing bloodstained shoes and had blood splatters on his right ear, according to court papers.
Sheriff’s detective Jim Scharf testified that White made statements to investigators before and after he was arrested, and detectives made certain he understood his rights.
White initially denied involvement in the killing, but later told investigators Jubie was killed by one of his friends, Scharf said.
As the questioning continued White continued to change his story, admitting at one point that he had stabbed Jubie and "implicated himself in his role and then later on he even retracted that and denied it again," the detective added.
White did tell detectives more than once that he was going to "take the Fifth" Amendment, invoking his right against self-incrimination, but he continued speaking with detectives anyway, the judge was told.
Lawyers are scheduled to argue Friday whether the judge should allow the statements to be used at trial.
If convicted as charged, White faces mandatory punishment of life in prison without possibility of release.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431
or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
