A man arrested in connection with the deaths of a Washington couple appeared in court this week, where he was identified as the victims’ tenant on the brink of eviction when the pair died.
The suspect, 45-year-old Timothy Burke, was taken into custody on Friday on murder and kidnapping charges in the deaths of Karen Koep and Davido, who legally has no last name.
The couple allowed tenants to stay on their property in camper vans and garages dotted across a plot of land on Stedman Road Southeast in Lake Forest, Washington. They rented out the land to individuals regardless of whether they could afford to pay, records obtained by The Seattle Times show.
The pair went missing nearly a week ago, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials still have not been able to locate their bodies.
Mr Burke is being held in jail without bond at Thurston County Jail, per court records. He had his first court appearance in the case on Monday.
When responding to a welfare check requested by Ms Koep’s employer on 13 November, deputies found two bullet holes in the walls, according to the outlet.
Officers observed two large blood stains in the living room. It appeared as if someone had tried to use bleach and a vacuum to clean the blood, the newspaper reported. Two emergency responders said the amount of blood was more than they believed someone could survive losing.
No one was at the property when officials arrived. Neighbours said they heard gunshots either on Friday or Saturday evening.
Investigators believe that someone dragged the couples’ bodies to the garage, where a car might have been. Officers did not find Ms Koep’s vehicle when searching the scene. When they eventually found the car, blood was found in the trunk.
According to the newspaper, officials obtained surveillance footage showing the man driving the vehicle to two different credit unions on Nov 12, one day before officers searched the home. Mr Burke allegedly attempted to use Davido’s debit card and was arrested for identity theft.
Officials said a best friend of Mr Davido tipped them off about Burke’s potential eviction.
They subsequently obtained a partially written eviction notice for Mr Burke. Additionally, the man previously told law enforcement officials that his landlord was attempting to evict him.
When he was ultimately arrested, officials found a semi-automatic pistol in Mr Burke’s pocket, which matched the bullet casings found in the couple’s home.
The Independent reached out to Thurston County Public Defense for comment.
