2 Boys Held In Rock Death Of Motorist -- Arrest Credited To Information From Public

A 12-year-old Seattle boy and a 13-year-old Everett boy were arrested yesterday in connection with the death of a Lynnwood man who was killed by a rock dropped from an overpass near Lynnwood.

Information called into the Snohomish County Sheriff's Department was critical in making the arrests, said sheriff's spokesman Elliott Woodall.

``We got a lot of information,'' Woodall said.

Police arrested the Seattle boy early in the morning at a South Seattle group home where he lives. Last night, police arrested the Everett boy at his home.

The two youngsters are being held in Denny Youth Center, a juvenile detention home in Everett, for investigation on a possible charge of first-degree murder.

The two boys were spending the night with the grandparents of the Seattle boy, who live in Lynnwood, Woodall said. Sometime during the night or early morning of Dec. 8, they left the house and went onto the overpass over state Highway 525 at 148th Street Southwest, south of Everett, he said.

A third boy, who spent the night with the other two, did not accompany them to the overpass and is not a suspect, Woodall said.

At the overpass, according to Woodall, the two boys dropped a rock the size of a football onto a 1990 Honda driven by Lester L. Miller, 55, a Boeing employee and father of seven.

Woodall said the boys' motives are unknown, but he speculated their action might have been a prank.

Miller was driving from his Lake Serene home, north of Lynnwood and less than a mile from the scene of his death, to his office in Renton when the 16-pound rock crashed through his windshield.

The death stunned his family and friends, who said he would be remembered for his deep desire to serve others.

a longtime Boeing employee, Miller coached Little League, helped young people and was the force behind an award-wining program to train disabled workers for employment at Boeing.

Miller's sister, Jan Kespohl, said her brother would have had sympathy for the suspects in the crime.

``He would have thought: Here are some kids who need some help; let's give them some help,'' said Kespohl.

``The family felt from the beginning that it was probably somebody who needed help,'' said Kespohl, who lives in California. ``Now, hopefully, they'll get some.''

The fact that the boy was in a group home indicates he had family trouble, said Kespohl, who is a sergeant with the sheriff's office in Mendocino County.

``We're not out for vengeance; we're out for help for the individuals,'' she said. ``We're so sad at the loss, but nothing is going to bring him back.'' Her brother, she said, would ``want us to carry on and help anybody who needed help.''

At the same time, Kespohl said, Miller's family is relieved to have an arrest made in the case.

``We're just elated, although we're sorry to hear it was juveniles. I'm sure they couldn't know the consequences of what could have happened with that big rock.

``We're just glad to know who was responsible. This is a case that normally would not get solved, unless somebody came forward with information. The investigators here worked hard; they went door to door, knocking. It's fantastic - it's a miracle.''

Two reward funds, including one set up by Miller's family, were begun to develop information leading to an arrest in the case. If police don't believe it should go to anyone who called in information, said Kespohl, the family will donate the reward money to benefit the Sheriff's Department.

``We don't know yet whether (the arrest) was from tips or hard work of the investigators,'' she said.

Kespohl said police told her a third boy was also involved, but that he didn't go to the overpass with the other two.

At first, she said, she had trouble believing the crime was committed by juveniles, because it occurred in the early morning.

``I said, juveniles aren't out all hours of the morning,'' she recalled.

But Miller's relatives and friends reminded her that Washington, unlike California, has no curfew law for juveniles. ``In Mendocino County, the curfew would be 10 p.m., and if they were out, they'd be picked up.''