EVERETT — A homeless man who told police he found Forrest Frownfelter dying in an Everett parking garage was later found with the man’s handgun.
Frownfelter, 76, died Jan. 3 in the Everett Senior Center’s garage from two gunshot wounds to the chest. Detectives haven’t been able to determine if the Korean War veteran and peace activist’s death is a homicide or if he took his own life.
A homeless man, 61, was sleeping in a pickup in the garage when Frownfelter’s truck woke him up, according to a police report filed in Everett District Court.
The homeless man told police he saw Frownfelter get out of his truck and slump to the ground. He also said he heard a loud bang.
After about 15 minutes, the homeless man went to see if Frownfelter needed help. The man reported that Frownfelter said he just wanted to die. He told police he held Frownfelter in his arms until his eyes glazed over as his life slipped away.
The homeless man told police he found a handgun next to Frownfelter’s hand but didn’t see any blood. The man believed Frownfelter had died of a heart attack, police said.
The homeless man told detectives he picked up the gun because he didn’t want someone else to find it. He also picked up a spent shell casing and an unfired bullet, tossing them in a dumpster as he left the garage. He kept the gun.
In court papers, detectives noted that the homeless man removed evidence from a crime scene.
The man “was adamant that he did not shoot victim Forrest Frownfelter,” police wrote in their report.
“We still do not have probable cause to charge him with any crime related to the death,” Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said. “He remains a person of interest in the case.”
The homeless man called 911 from a nearby pay phone to report the death but he didn’t wait for police. He told detectives a judge had earlier ordered him to have no contact with law enforcement.
Police tracked down the homeless man on Jan. 4. They found a 9 mm Star handgun in his truck. Goetz on Thursday confirmed that handgun belonged to Frownfelter.
Goetz would not say whether forensic evidence has linked that handgun to Frownfelter’s shooting.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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