A 21-year-old Everett man was being held in lieu of $1 million bail in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found Nov. 5 in the trunk of a stolen car.
Everett police arrested Aaron Robert Bander of Everett in the death of Terilynn S. Gardner, 18.
Officers also were seeking a 17-year-old girl who reportedly was present when Gardner was killed, documents said.
The 18-year-old woman was tied in a chair and beaten in the head with a hammer before her neck was cut, according to police affidavits filed in connection with her death.
Bander appeared in court Thursday, where the bail was set. He’s being held on suspicion of first-degree murder. No charges have been filed.
Police got a break in the case five days after the body was found when a witness told officers that someone who was fearful of being apprehended had described the death. As a result of that lead, police have been on the lookout for both Bander and his girlfriend, the 17-year-old, for weeks.
Bander was arrested after a struggle with officers Wednesday night. He had a loaded sawed-off shotgun shoved down his pants, court documents said.
Officers who knew Bander was under investigation for the death spotted him walking down the stairwell of a south Everett apartment complex, documents said. The police used electric shocks to subdue him, court papers said.
Police believe Bander and the girlfriend tied up Gardner, whose street name was Precious. They allegedly took turns beating her in the head with a hammer because they thought her to be a “snitch” or informant, papers said.
Documents said Gardner’s neck was cut because her assailants tried to cut her head off when she “just wouldn’t die,” documents said.
After she died, the victim was wrapped in blankets, a shower curtain, a sleeping bag and other items, then bundled with tape.
According to documents, Bander got another man to steal a car for him. The body was put in the trunk of a Honda Accord and then left at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of 90th Street SW. It was discovered after the manager of the complex had the vehicle towed away.
Bander has been in and out of the Snohomish County Jail numerous times this year, according to court documents.
He was arrested for illegal possession of a stolen firearm two days after the body was found, but that was before police found alleged links between Bander and Gardner’s death. He posted bail and was released.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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