Murder Victim Lay In Swamp For Days Before Someone Spoke Up

April 15, 2016

Everett, Police Blotter

for days

A judge found probable cause to hold James Archer on one million dollars bail for the murder of David Webster.

for days

A witness reportedly drank for 3 days before telling a Sheriff’s Deputy he’d seen a body in swamp.

murder

Everett Police spent multiple days going through the garbage filled area where the murder took place.

A man who reported seeing a body in an area of encampments just east of I-5 reportedly drank for days to get his courage up before telling a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputy what he’d seen.

That and other details came out during the probable cause hearing today for James D. Archer who is being held on one million dollars bail in the murder of David A. Webster. Judge Anthony Howard ruled against Archer’s attorney who argued there was only probable cause to hold his client for manslaughter. It’s now up to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s office to file formal charges next week.

In probable cause papers, an Everett Police Detective wrote that Webster was killed after getting into an argument with Archer. He’d reportedly moved the body at least once before being arrested on a Department of Corrections warrant on April 3rd in the general area where the murder took place. He was taken from there to the Monroe Correctional Facility until Thursday April 14th when he was released and immediately picked up by Everett Police Detectives.

While Archer was in Monroe, a man reportedly saw the victim’s body in the swamp on April 4th but drank for days until he could get his courage up to report the body to a Sheriff’s Deputy on April 7th. Once the body was recovered Everett Police began talking to people who frequented the area.

One of those people happened to be Archer’s girlfriend who police say admitted after more than one interview that Archer killed Webster after Webster stole three hundred dollars from her. She reportedly told detectives Archer threatened her life as well as the life of her granddaughter and dog if she disclosed to police what happened.

The probable cause papers detail a confession police say Archer gave them including details of moving Webster’s body at least once and how he had covered it with garbage and eventually put it in a sleeping bag. The area in question has been used by transients for years and is littered with garbage, human waste and needles. It lies next to Interstate 5 and also along the railroad right of way west of the Snohomish River.




,

About My Everett News Staff

My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

View all posts by My Everett News Staff