EVERETT — A man with a lengthy record of violence allegedly stomped a naked woman with such ferocity that he killed her in a secluded green belt south of Everett, according to police reports filed in court Friday.
The suspected attacker left an Oakland Raiders cap at the crime scene — and DNA on the hat led detectives to Jamel Alexander, 29, who lived about 2½ miles away.
The Everett man, who also goes by Jamal Alexander, was arrested this week for investigation of first-degree murder of Shawna Brune, 29. A judge found probable cause to hold the suspect in jail on that allegation Friday.
A passerby walking his dog found the battered body at 9:20 a.m. Oct. 12, near a parking lot off the 11600 block of Highway 99, according to the court records.
On leaves along a trail into the green belt, sheriff’s deputies found drops of blood, a condom wrapper, a black purse and a gold high-top women’s shoe. And there was a knit cap, with blood on it, bearing the logo of the pro football team from the Bay Area.
Brune, of Everett, was nude. She’d suffered broken facial bones and swelling of the brain.
Dr. Matthew Lacy performed an autopsy at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office. He found the woman’s skin had been gouged by thorns.
“Dr. Lacy concluded the ferocity of strikes from presumably the shoes of her attacker caused (her) intense pain and suffering prior to death,” according to the police reports.
Deputies found security footage in the neighborhood, and saw what appeared to be the woman entering the apartment complex, with a man, at 9:03 p.m. Oct. 11.
The man was wearing a knit cap. Three minutes later, a camera captured movement on the dark trail. Evidence suggested the attacker beat Brune near the start of the trail, stripped her naked, then killed her farther back on the path, according to police reports. The man appeared on camera again after a half-hour, wearing the same clothes, minus the hat. Another video showed him walk into a gas station 1½ miles north of the crime scene at 9:54 p.m. Oct. 11, court papers say. He glanced up at the security cameras, and glanced down to study red staining on his left shoe. He lifted his foot to get a closer look.
Detectives showed footage to apartment managers in the area. One of them reported the man looked like Alexander, who lived off West Casino Road.
That man’s record out of California revealed he’d been jailed for participating in a street gang, assault with a weapon, assault on a school employee, second-degree robbery and carjacking, as well as nonviolent crimes, according to the court records. It appeared he’d moved to Everett around 2016.
As a felon, his genetic profile was sitting in a national DNA database. Deputies sent the cap to a state crime lab. On Thursday, the database showed an apparent match between Alexander and the DNA on the cap.
Detectives found Alexander at his apartment. He spoke with detectives. He admitted he’d met the woman on Highway 99, but that when they parted ways, she was alive and well, according to the court papers.
An examination of his body showed no injuries, according to detectives.
Deputies booked the man into the Snohomish County Jail around 4 p.m. Thursday.
Alexander entered a jail courtroom Friday afternoon with gauze on his neck. Deputy proescutor Robert Grant told a judge that as Alexander was arrested, he’d stabbed himself in the neck with a pen.
The prosecutor added that given Alexander’s history, this could be his third strike. If convicted, he’d face life in prison without a chance of parole.
Snohomish County public defender Whitney Rivera argued against a finding of probable cause for first-degree murder, saying there was no clear evidence to show the killing was premeditated. A district court judge set bail at $2 million and found cause to hold Alexander in jail on the more serious allegation.
Alexander had told police his Puma coat and his Vans shoes in the videos could be found in his home. He reported the red stains on his shoes were from a spilled energy drink, not blood.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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