Friends jailed in Arlington and Mukilteo torture-killings

Published 9:30 am Monday, July 9, 2018

EVERETT — Two young men were found tortured and killed last week, one near Arlington and one in Mukilteo.

Now, police allege that both homicides were committed by a group of friends working together.

Investigators were told the violence escalated over accusations of “snitching” and someone paying unwanted attention to someone else’s girlfriend, according to court papers.

The victims were identified Monday as Mohamed H. Adan, 21, of Seattle, and Ezekiel M. Kelly, 22, of Everett.

Two suspects were booked Friday into the Snohomish County Jail, each accused of murder. A judge in Everett District Court on Monday denied bail for Anthony Hernandez-Cano, 18, and Hassani H. Hassani, 20.

On Monday, a third suspect — a 21-year-old woman — was booked for investigation of aggravated murder. She is expected in court Tuesday.

The two victims apparently knew each other, and reportedly exchanged text messages that angered Hernandez-Cano.

The first killing was reported July 1. Passersby came upon the body in the brush at Blue Stilly Park near Arlington.

An autopsy determined Adan had been shot seven times — twice in the foot and five times in the chest. The gunshots were from a .22-caliber weapon.

His face was bruised and swollen, and he had been burned with cigarettes. Police later were told that at some point he’d been bound with electrical cord and hit with a baseball bat.

The second body was found July 3 in Mukilteo, near Beverly Park Road and Pacific Place. Nearby was a silver dagger with an 8-inch blade with what appeared to be dried blood.

A detective attended the autopsy, where he learned that Kelly had 27 knife wounds, including one that hit the femoral artery and another in his back that struck his lung. He also had been shot in the head three times.

The homicides are being investigated by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Mukilteo police.

The three suspects apparently all live in an apartment complex on the Mukilteo Speedway, near where Kelly died. A pistol and related materials were recovered from storm drains close to the complex.

Hernandez-Cano is accused of killing Adan near Arlington. He was booked for investigation of first-degree murder and kidnapping, along with alleged violations of domestic violence protection orders. The woman named in those orders was his girlfriend, who was arrested Monday in connection with the homicides.

Hernandez-Cano was in jail from June 27 to June 30. He was arrested that time on domestic violence allegations in Mukilteo.

He also was booked on a warrant for a February case out of Bellevue, accused of domestic violence malicious mischief.

The girlfriend posted his bail, according to court records. He told police that’s when she told him that one of the homicide victims had spied on her in a parking lot.

Hernandez-Cano allegedly said that at first he planned to leave Adan at Blue Stilly Park but returned to kill him, adding, “I wanted him to suffer.”

Hernandez-Cano reportedly laughed when he was told that surveillance cameras near Blue Stilly Park had captured a license plate associated with his girlfriend. That happened between 5 and 6 a.m. July 1.

The car was found in Mukilteo and was under surveillance when Hernandez-Cano and the woman got in together, leading to his arrest, according to police reports.

Hassani is accused in the death of Kelly in Mukilteo. He was booked for investigation of first-degree aggravated murder. In that case, Hernandez-Cano reportedly stabbed Kelly, who also was bound and beaten. Some of the stab wounds were believed to have been caused with a screwdriver.

Neighbors reported hearing gunshots about 11:30 p.m. July 2.

Hassani claimed he was handed a .22-caliber pistol and told to “finish it.”

“He said that he did it because he wanted to be tough like Hernandez-Cano,” police wrote.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.