LAKE STEVENS, Wash. — Police have identified and arrested a man they suspect killed a California woman in Lake Stevens back in August.
Officers found a deceased 37-year-old woman on 84th Street Northeast in Lake Stevens on Aug. 20. Police found the death suspicious and asked detectives to investigate, according to a release.
The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab eventually managed a DNA sample found on the victim's body to a 56-year-old Arlington man, who was not known to the victim, police said.
Court documents show police went to the home of the suspect and learned he had fled the area to go down to Mexico. The suspect is a registered sex offender who had previous convictions for murder and rape of a child, court documents say.
The man was interviewed by police and subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder. The suspect initially denied ever meeting the victim, but eventually revealed that he had met her and killed her before leaving her body where it was later found.
The suspect is expected to be make his first court appearance on Monday at 1 p.m.
