DES MOINES, Wash. — The man suspected of stabbing another to death and dumping the victim's body near the Duwamish River was charged with second-degree murder.
The state requested Kyle Michael McCullough, 28, remain held on $3 million bail Monday for the stabbing that prosecutors believe happened after he learned his girlfriend was cheating on him.
On June 20, Des Moines police notified the King County Sheriff's Office that a body was found inside a plastic tote in the 13500 block of Beacon Coal Mine Road.
The victim’s roommate told the victim’s sister that McCullough stabbed her brother to death in their Des Moines apartment, according to a statement of probable cause. The victim's roommate told the sister where to find the body.
The victim's roommate was interviewed by detectives. During the interview, he said that on June 17 he was sleeping when he woke to the sound of screaming, according to a statement of probable cause. He told detectives he saw McCullough kneeling over the victim with a knife. The victim, according to his roommate, died in the apartment and McCullough removed the body.
During a search of the apartment, detectives found evidence of a homicide, including blood spatter and an attempt to clean up, according to the statement of probable cause.
McCullough was taken into custody on June 22 in his Kent apartment. Inside the apartment, detectives found bloody socks and other items that appeared to have blood on them.
McCullough told police he was in the Des Moines apartment when he got into a fight with the victim. He admitted he stabbed the victim multiple times with a pocket knife, but he said he did so in self-defense, according to charging documents. He said the victim was unarmed during the fight but told police the victim was choking him with one hand before the stabbing.
McCullough denied removing the victim's body from the apartment.
The only injury McCullough had was a cut on his hand that he said may have occurred during the fight, he told police.
The victim's roommate told police he did not hear arguing or fighting prior to the screaming, according to charging documents.
The victim's roommate showed police a text message thread between himself and McCullough from the day before the attack that included a mention of harming the victim.
Detectives learned there had been a dispute between McCullough, his girlfriend, and the victim on June 17 after McCullough discovered the two were sleeping together.
On June 18, McCullough's girlfriend said she returned from work to their apartment around 6:45 p.m. and he was not there. However, she found a white plastic garbage bag with clothes belonging to McCullough and a folding knife that belonged to her, according to charging documents. She also found evidence of an attempt to clean the bathtub which had a "red residue" inside it.
McCullough's arraignment is scheduled for July 11.
