EVERETT — A Marysville man admitted Tuesday that he murdered a disabled man during a robbery last year.
In June, a woman walking along 6700 block of 14th Avenue spotted Steven Steadman lying face down in a ditch. Steadman had been shot in the back of the head and dumped off on the side of the road.
Michael Scott Stowell faces up to three decades in prison for the slaying. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder with a firearm. He admitted that he killed Steadman, 58, during the course of a robbery.
Steadman had access to prescription pain medications because of his disability and often sold the drugs to make money, according to court papers. Stowell bought narcotics from Steadman in the past. The victim told his children June 19 that he planned meet Stowell that day to collect a $48 debt.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Michael Downes carefully questioned Stowell on Tuesday before accepting his guilty plea. The judge made it clear that Stowell will spend no less than 25 years in prison. The defendant faces up to 31 years under state sentencing guidelines.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Bob Langbehn has agreed to recommend a 25-year sentence. Stowell, 31, has no prior felony convictions. His guilty plea also spares Steadman’s family a trial, Langbehn said.
The defendant denied killing Steadman when he was questioned by Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives back in June. He said he and Stowell had argued a few days earlier and he’d kicked the older man out of his vehicle. He said Steadman left behind his wheelchair and backpack.
Detectives found a pill bottle with Steadman’s name on it in the defendant’s house. They also found large blood stains in Steadman’s car. Someone had tried to clean up the blood. A search of his car turned up a partially used bottle of bleach and rags, both blood-stained.
A relative also told detectives that he helped the defendant throw away Steadman’s property, including his wheelchair and backpack. He reported that they tossed the items in a dumpster behind a Marysville fast food restaurant.
Detectives also learned that someone sent text messages from Steadman’s phone after his death. The victim’s daughter received several of those messages. She didn’t know her father was dead. One of the messages instructed her to give Stowell all of her father’s prescription medications. She met with him June 21 and gave him the drugs. He had bleached his hair and told her he was headed to Disneyland.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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