VERLOT – The fate of an unusual murder prosecution that began before the dead man’s body was discovered now hinges on what forensic experts can glean from his bones.
Skeletal remains found by hikers last week on Mount Pilchuck were identified Monday as those of Brandon Riley Kempf, 19, the Snohomish County medical examiner reported.
Kempf, of Granite Falls, has been missing since August 2005. Authorities have long suspected Kempf was the victim of foul play, launching – and just weeks ago abandoning – a murder case in Snohomish County Superior Court.
Now people on both sides of the case are waiting to see what the medical examiner can learn about how Kempf died.
“We know it is him, and we’ll see if the body can tell us anything,” deputy prosecutor John Stansell said.
“I want to see what the medical examiner has to say,” public defender Neal Friedman said. On Sept. 29, he convinced prosecutors to dismiss a second-degree murder charge against Aaron J. Hillman, 20, of Lake Stevens.
Hillman was jailed for six months after he allegedly bragged about killing Kempf, sexually abusing his body, then throwing the remains down a cliff.
Kempf, a Stillaguamish tribal member, was last seen Aug. 11, 2005, near the Blue Bridge, less than a mile from the road leading up to the Mount Pilchuck Lookout.
Kempf had a history of mental instability. His behavior that day concerned people enough that medics were called to a small grocery story along the Mountain Loop Highway to check on his well-being, according to court papers.
On Aug. 21, 2005, Kempf’s sweatshirt and shoes were found on the bridge, not far away.
Two hikers stumbled across Kempf’s bones Oct. 17 in a steep ravine on the mountain’s north side. Investigators were able to retrieve the remains Friday using a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office helicopter.
The medical examiner has not determined how Kempf died, nor has he classified the death as either a homicide or an accident.
Sheriff’s detectives are waiting for more information.
“We will wait for the medical examiner to return the cause and manner (of death) and give us further forensic support for our investigation. Once we have those results, we’ll make a decision on how to proceed,” deputy Rich Niebusch said.
He declined to say whether any arrests are forthcoming.
Hillman reportedly told people he had killed Kempf, statements that led to his arrest early this year in northern California. Trial was scheduled for Oct. 27, but Stansell instead filed for dismissal, citing inability to prove his case with the available evidence.
When arrested, Hillman admitted to detectives that he had bragged several times about killing Kempf, but insisted “it was all a big lie,” Stansell said in court papers.
“In a taped statement, Hillman said he told a lot of people in Granite Falls the story and had made up so many lies that he was not sure exactly what he said to what people,” the prosecutor wrote.
At the request of prosecutors, a judge dismissed the charge against Hillman in a way that would allow the case to be refiled at any time if more evidence were found.
That drew an objection from Friedman, who argued it was wrong for his client to continue to face suspicion.
“On a murder case the statute of limitations is a lifetime, and it is patently unfair to first force Mr. Hillman to stay in custody on this matter, dismiss without prejudice and then live forever under this cloud,” Friedman said in court papers.
Friedman said he spoke with Hillman last week. In preparation for the trial that did not occur, he obtained the court’s permission to examine Kempf’s history of mental problems, including a hospital stay about two months before his disappearance.
The attorney also obtained a court order to question the detective leading the investigation in the July 11 slayings of two Seattle women.
The lawyer wanted to know whether investigators were probing any link between Kempf’s disappearance and the killings of Mary Cooper, 54, and her daughter Susanna Stodden, 27. The pair were shot to death near the Pinnacle Lake Trail on the east side of the mountain.
Friedman said he never asked the detective his questions because the case was dismissed a few weeks after he obtained the court order.
Kempf’s bones were found on the north side of the mountain in an area at least five miles, as the crow flies, from where two Seattle women were killed. No arrests have been made in connection with the double homicide.
The two locations are separated by steep, rocky terrain not marked by trails and investigators have no reason to believe there is any connection between the cases, Niebusch said.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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