EVERETT — Police on Tuesday arrested another person they allege was involved in the January stabbing death of an 82-year-old Marysville man.
Robert Ruben Kennedy, 26, was already in the Snohomish County Jail on Tuesday when he was booked for investigation of first-degree murder, robbery and motor vehicle theft. It marked the third time during the past decade the twice-convicted felon has been charged with robbery or attempted robbery, according to court records. He was released from prison March 12, according to state Department of Corrections records.
On Monday, bail was set at $1 million for Delaney R. Wood, 28, who allegedly bragged about killing a sex offender shortly after Arthur Schroeder was stabbed to death in his trailer. Kennedy is expected to appear for a bail hearing in the next few days.
Schroeder was found Jan. 25 inside his ransacked travel trailer at the Brookside Mobile RV Park in the 9800 block of State Avenue. He was found clutching a plastic bag in his left hand. Furniture was overturned and cabinets left open. Dried blood led investigators to believe he had been dead for several hours.
His 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup was not in the driveway. It was found burning on vacant land north of Arlington, hours after the body was discovered.
Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux on Tuesday said detectives believe Kennedy “was present and participated” in the killing along with Wood. Police believe Schroeder was killed around 5 p.m. Jan. 24, according to court records.
Afterward, the pair drove in Schroeder’s truck to Kennedy’s home where they told an acquaintance they had just killed an old man and stolen his truck, Lamoureux said.
Kennedy allegedly made statements to friends that he and Wood had stabbed the old man.
“At the time this statement was being made the two suspects were wearing bloody clothing, had blood on their hands, and the man was holding a baggie with bloody knives inside,” Lamoureux said.
Kennedy allegedly told a friend that “things went bad” and he was sorry for what happened, according to one of several search warrants in the case. Kennedy reportedly said he and Wood went to Schroeder’s home to get money, but the elderly man didn’t want to give them any.
As it turned out, the pair said they only got $200 from the robbery and they split it, according to an acquaintance who spoke with police.
Besides the truck, a cell phone, wallet, jewelry box, two rings and a necklace also were missing from Schroeder’s trailer, according to court papers.
On the afternoon of the killing, both suspects were recorded on a Community Transit bus video being dropped off at the entrance to the trailer park where Schroeder lived.
Wood was Schroeder’s neighbor.
“We have arrested the two people we believe are responsible for the murder of Schroeder,” Lamoureux said. “We also know there were others who were participants after the fact, including transporting the female suspect and burning the victim’s truck. We certainly want to have additional conversations with these people to learn precisely what their level of involvement was.”
Kennedy was 17 when he was convicted of first-degree robbery. In that case, he participated in a holdup at a sex shop on Broadway in Everett. A knife was used to intimidate a clerk, court papers said. Kennedy and a co-defendant caught a bus a few blocks away. Money from the robbery was used to buy methamphetamine, court records said.
Wood allegedly has bragged about killing Schroeder because he was a registered sex offender. She also allegedly has claimed to friends that the man had drugged and sexually assaulted her.
Schroeder spent 18 years in prison for sex offenses, according to state Department of Corrections records. The crimes, involving 20 victims, took place between 1980 and 1983 and included girls ages 8 to 14.
His last conviction came in February 2011 when he pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender.
Police first reported that Schroeder was found by his grandson who went to check on him after visiting a friend who lives in the mobile RV park.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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