Loose talk, a pile of clothing on a highway bridge and a large knife have led to the arrest of a Lake Stevens man in a suspected slaying in the hills outside Granite Falls.
Aaron J. Hillman, 19, was arrested Thursday in Northern California. He was charged Friday with second-degree murder in the disappearance of Brandon Kempf, also 19.
Kempf has been missing since August, when his bright yellow sweat shirt, shoes and other clothing were found on Blue Bridge east of Granite Falls on the Mountain Loop Highway. No body has been found.
Not long after his mother reported him missing Aug. 12, rumors began circulating that Kempf, of Granite Falls, had been killed because of suspicions that he was a police informant, according to documents deputy prosecutor John Adcock filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Detectives with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spent time running down rumors about who supposedly took Kempf’s life. Hillman’s name was among those that rumors linked to Kempf’s disappearance, detective Kelly Willoth said in an affidavit filed in support of the murder charge.
Detectives couldn’t immediately find Hillman, who had apparently left the area around Thanksgiving. From others, they learned that he had been talking about Kempf’s disappearance and suspected death. He also reportedly said he needed to get out of town.
Detectives this week tracked Hillman down near Oroville, Calif.
“At that time, Hillman made statements that he knew we were looking for him and that he had information that he had wanted to give us for a long time,” Willoth wrote.
On the ride to the police station, “Hillman told us he had information that would cause us to be mad at him and that he had done some stupid things. He also asked if we arranged for mental help for people.”
Hillman reportedly admitted talking about involvement in Kempf’s killing, hoping to impress some in Granite Falls as a “tough guy,” documents show. Willoth said he told a former girlfriend that he had killed Kempf with a knife and sexually assaulted the body before pushing it off a cliff, according to court papers.
The former girlfriend “seemed very upset, scared and disgusted about what she knew,” the detective wrote.
Through tears, she recounted what Hillman had told her happened to Kempf. She also told detectives that Hillman said he gave a friend in Everett the “meat cleaver-type knife” used in the killing, the affidavit said.
Detectives on Friday recovered a knife that Hillman had given to the friend in Everett, documents show.
Hillman on Friday was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail in Butte County, Calif. In a follow-up interview with detectives, he continued to insist that he made up the story about killing Kempf, Willoth wrote.
The investigation is continuing, and more interviews will be conducted, said deputy Dave Hayes, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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