Woman Charged With Murder In Shooting -- Motive Unclear, But Shooter's Family Says She Had A Keen Interest In Handling Guns

EVERETT - An exotic dancer has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of a friend's roommate.

Marygrace Fajarillo, 21, was charged yesterday in Snohomish County Superior Court in the death of Daniel Hjellen, 22, of Everett two weeks ago.

The motivation for the shooting remains unclear, court documents said.

Fajarillo was working as an exotic dancer in clubs in Everett and North King County. She was being evicted from a motel in Shoreline at the time of the shooting, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Dickinson said.

Before the slaying, she had spent the night at the Everett home of her friend and Hjellen, the charges said.

The next morning, May 24, when the two men were in the living room, she emerged from her friend's bedroom carrying his .40-caliber Glock handgun, court papers said. She walked up to Hjellen, put the gun to his head and shot him, according to the charges.

Fearing for his life, Fajarillo's friend ran from the house as she reloaded the gun, the charges said. He ran to a nearby store and called police.

Police and medics went to the home and transported Hjellen to a hospital, where he died later that day.

Within several hours, police arrested Fajarillo at her parents' Edmonds home. Authorities found the gun and the victim's car keys with her, according to the charges. She had not taken his car.

Fajarillo gave various reasons for the shooting, according to the charging papers. The charges gave no further explanation. She told police she went through Hjellen's pockets afterward and took money and keys.

Witnesses told police that the day before the shooting, Fajarillo had asked friends and family for money because she was being evicted from her motel.

Fajarillo's former boyfriend told authorities she previously had made statements about shooting people in the head and sometimes would pretend to do so with her fingers, the charges said.

Members of Fajarillo's family and others told police she had a keen interest in guns and enjoyed shooting and handling them, the charges said.

Fajarillo, who has a minor criminal history, faces a standard sentencing range of 15 years and three months to 23 years and four months in prison.

She was being held in the Snohomish County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail. She was to be arraigned today.