Slaying Suspect Turns Himself In

A 19-year-old Mukilteo man charged in the kidnapping and slaying of a Redmond resident turned himself in yesterday morning in Charlotte, N.C., after a five-day cross-country bus trip.

Jessie Osalde, accompanied by a friend's father, surrendered at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, said Lt. Levi Morgan, Cowlitz County sheriff's spokesman.

Osalde and three other people were charged last week with aggravated first-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Edward F. Ross. They allegedly kidnapped Ross and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Catherine Fischer, from the Mukilteo ferry terminal Oct. 10 and stabbed Ross the next day.

The crime apparently involved drugs, but the motive was unclear, said officials in Cowlitz County, where Ross' body was found last week.

Osalde was awaiting an extradition hearing in Charlotte and could be transported to the Cowlitz County Jail next week, Morgan said. The other defendants - Paul Sarkis Jr., 20, of Langley, Whidbey Island; Talee Colter, 20, of Everett; and 34-year-old Angel Fernandez of Beaverton, Ore. - were being held in Cowlitz County Jail in lieu of $3 million bail each.

According to charging papers filed in Cowlitz County Superior Court, Ross and Fischer were waiting to board a ferry Oct. 10 when Osalde and Fernandez got into their car and forced them to drive south. Colter and Sarkis followed in Sarkis' vehicle. Osalde was armed with a gun and Fernandez with a knife.

At an unknown location, Ross allegedly was ordered to stop, and several items were taken from his car and placed in Sarkis' car. The defendants then told Ross to drive to the Clinton ferry area on Whidbey Island, according to the charges, and there Ross was moved to the other car, and Sarkis and Fernandez took him to an unknown location.

Meanwhile, Colter and Osalde allegedly used Ross' car to drive Fischer to Colter's Everett home.

Fischer was released later that day. Osalde then abandoned Ross' car in Everett after taking its stereo equipment, the court papers say.

Sarkis and Fernandez arrived at Colter's home later that evening with Ross, the charging papers add, and Ross was duct-taped to a pole in the basement.

The next day, according to the court papers, Fernandez and Osalde drove Ross to a remote area in the Rose Valley area of Cowlitz County. Fernandez allegedly stabbed Ross several times while Sarkis and Osalde watched. The three men then helped Fernandez cover Ross' body with leaves and debris, the documents say.

Fischer waited until Oct. 12 to report to FBI agents that Ross was missing, Mukilteo Police Chief Mike Murphy said. On Oct. 13, Mukilteo police officers arrested Sarkis and Fernandez at a Mukilteo Taco Bell. The following day, Cowlitz County sheriff's detectives found Ross' body. Colter was arrested at her Everett home.

The motives for Ross' slaying are still unclear, said Cowlitz County osecutor Jim Stonier. Detectives recovered the knife thought to have been used in Ross' death, Stonier said, but investigators were still collecting evidence yesterday.

"We don't know for sure at this point, but as far as we can tell, the case involves drugs," Stonier said. "But whether it was money owed, or the motive was a drug robbery or one person was cutting into another person's business, we won't know until we get all the statements."

All four defendants face life imprisonment if convicted, Stonier said.

Keiko Morris' phone message number is 425-745-7804. Her e-mail address is kmorris@seattletimes.com