Man Sought In Death Of Neighbor -- Police In Tacoma Find Woman's Body Under Waterbed
TACOMA - A 29-year-old man last seen in Vancouver, Wash., is being sought for questioning in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found underneath a waterbed in his apartment, police said today.
The dead woman is believed to be Janell Osman, 23, who lived two doors from the man in a North Tacoma apartment complex in the 200 block of North G St.
Osman was reported missing July 8 by her mother shortly after complaining that the man had been sending her unwanted gifts and notes, said Wally Mason, spokesman for the Tacoma Police Department.
A check of dental records to confirm her identity and an autopsy were to be conducted today, said a spokeswoman for the Pierce County medical examiner's office.
The man, considered dangerous and possibly suicidal, is white, about 6 feet tall, 170 pounds with light-brown hair often worn in a ponytail, Mason said.
He is suspected in connection with an armed robbery July 8 at a home in Vancouver, the city in which he grew up. He also has been seen there driving a white 1988 Chevrolet Beretta, license number 415-BWA.
The car belongs to a female acquaintance who told police he took it around July 8, leaving a note saying he would return it, Mason said. He had borrowed it with her permission in the past.
Investigators believe Osman had been dead more than a week before being found. Her partially decomposed body was identified by her mother from a tattoo, Mason said.
Police found the body about 11 a.m. yesterday after the manager of the Leland Apartments reported a foul smell.
Mason said the apartment had been checked around July 8 after Osman's mother made a missing-persons report. Police, however, didn't see the body, which had been wrapped in a blanket and stuffed into a small drawer under the bed.
Mason said the man is a convicted rapist with a history of assault and theft. His right eye is made of glass, the result of an injury he suffered 11 years ago in a self-inflicted shooting.