Transient Pleads Not Guilty -- New Murder Charge Made In Rail- Death Case

EVERETT - A transient charged in the gruesome death of another homeless man could face an additional 18 1/2 years in prison after declining a plea bargain.

Dale Schwab Jr., 27, pleaded not guilty yesterday to a new charge of first-degree murder. Schwab, whose trial is expected to begin Monday, previously was charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 23 death of Ernest Sena, 38.

Prosecutors say Schwab and another transient, Aaron Beymer, beat up Sena, wrapped him in a piece of carpet and then laid him across Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks in Everett. The pair, both from Marysville, allegedly watched an eastbound train hit Sena around 6 a.m.

Train engineers didn't know they hit anything. Sena's remains were discovered around noon by railroad workers.

Beymer, 17, six weeks ago accepted a plea bargain that reduced his charge from second-degree murder to first-degree manslaughter. In so doing, he agreed to testify against Schwab. Prosecutors have said they'll seek an eight-year sentence for Beymer.

Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Craig Matheson yesterday said Schwab had had six weeks to consider a similar opportunity to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter.

But because Schwab has an extensive criminal record, including felony convictions for robbery and car theft plus 22 juvenile convictions, he faced a 16-year prison sentence if he pleaded guilty to that manslaughter charge.

If a jury convicts Schwab of first-degree murder, he faces about 34 1/2 years in prison, while a second-degree-murder conviction would carry a 26-year sentence, Matheson said.

Prosecutors allege Beymer and Schwab began kicking Sena after they found him sleeping on Beymer's gear beneath the Broadway underpass, next to the railroad tracks near Broadway and Hewitt Avenue. The assault apparently became more violent after Sena either shoved Beymer's dog or threatened to kick it.

Police talked to Beymer and Schwab within an hour of Sena's death, before his body was found, while investigating a trespass complaint. Schwab was arrested on an outstanding warrant, then later charged with murder. Beymer wasn't arrested until Jan. 6, when Oregon railroad authorities found him on a freight train headed for California.

Diane Brooks' phone message number is 425-745-7802. Her e-mail address is: dbro-new@seatimes.com