EVERETT — Prosecutors have charged an Everett man with aggravated murder for the strangulation death of a boarder who lived in the transitional house the suspect managed.
Kenny Tate, 40, also is accused of raping the man. Tate allegedly told detectives he planned to lure Daniel Dubeau, 30, into his room to sexually assault him after Dubeau declined his advances.
The suspect confessed to repeatedly raping Dubeau after he’d strangled him with a belt, according to a search warrant.
Prosecutors earlier this week charged Tate by complaint in Everett District Court. They have until Dec. 24 to refile the charges into Snohomish County Superior Court. Tate was being held in the county jail without bail.
A search warrant says the killing was discovered Dec. 2 by the homeowner, Tate’s stepbrother. The man stopped by the house on Beverly Lane, west of Evergreen Way, when he couldn’t reach Tate on the phone. The location is billed as clean-and-sober housing for recovering addicts.
Dubeau’s body was in Tate’s bedroom. Detectives were told that he was last seen leaving his room about 2 a.m. About four hours later Tate asked to borrow $60 for gas from another boarder and drove off.
Tate showed up at the police department early the following day. He allegedly confessed to the crimes in a taped interview with police.
Tate said he and the victim had been getting high on methamphetamine for several hours. He told detectives he tried to bribe Dubeau with drugs in exchange for sexual acts. Dubeau refused and that’s when Tate allegedly decided to rape him, according to the search warrant.
The men struggled until Tate was able to wrap a belt around the victim’s throat. Once Dubeau stopped moving, Tate allegedly sexually assaulted the man. He also told police that he looked at pornography on his cellphone.
Tate then allegedly rummaged through the man’s pockets and took a blue lighter and $1. Tate said he fled and went to a drug house in Lynnwood. He told detectives he spent the day there getting high on crack.
Tate told police that another boarder heard some of the struggle and texted him. Tate wrote the man back, saying he was just high and everything was fine, according to court records.
Prosecutors have filed aggravated murder charges against two other men this year. Tye Fleischer is accused of gunning down two people in Everett. Prosecutors allege Benjamin Price beat a fellow inmate to death at the Monroe Correctional Complex.
Aggravated murder is the only charge in Washington where the death penalty is an option. Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe has declined to seek death for Fleischer. Price’s case is stayed while state psychiatrists decide whether he is competent to assist with his own defense.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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