Man charged in four slayings
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An obsession with a 17-year-old high-school cheerleader may have been one reason she and three others were slain in a Des Moines home last week.
Yesterday, 19-year-old Leemah Carneh of the Spanaway area was charged with four counts of aggravated murder - and could face the death penalty if convicted - in the killing of Josie Peterson, 17, a cheerleader at Evergreen High School; her boyfriend, Taelor Marks, 18; and Marks' grandparents, Richard and Leola Jane Larson.
"The evidence gathered so far points to a number of possible motives for this terrible crime, including the defendant's obsession with the young woman," King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said.
But prosecutors are not ruling out robbery as a possible motive. They believe Carneh acted alone.
All four victims were found dead last Friday at the Larsons' home. The older couple, who were shot execution-style at close range, were most likely killed first, investigators said. Then Marks and Peterson were slain when they came home. Peterson was beaten and stabbed, Marks shot and beaten.
Investigators have said that among the items taken in a recent search of Carneh's home was a photograph of Peterson.
Monday, police broke in the door where Carneh lives with his mother and stepfather and arrested him. Along with the photo, they said, they found a ring belonging to Marks, luggage with the Larsons' name on it, a car stereo identified as coming from Marks' Monte Carlo, a handgun and bloody clothes.
Police were led to Carneh through Marks' car, which was stolen the day of the killings.
About 7:45 a.m., Carneh came to a friend's Burien home and asked whether he wanted to buy a car, according to court papers. The friend, who told police that Carneh appeared to be in a hurry and to not have had much sleep, said his brother might be interested in the car and told him to come back later.
At 9:45, Carneh returned and sold the car to his friend's brother for $300, authorities said. Detectives found the car at a Kent apartment complex. Carneh's friend and the friend's brother are cooperating with the investigation.
Investigators also said a witness saw Carneh in the Larsons' neighborhood the evening before the killings. Police brought a search dog in and tracked Carneh's scent to the driveway of the Larson home, according to documents.
Carneh's mother, who told police she usually "keeps close watch" on her son when he's staying at their house, said he didn't come home the night of March 8.
Maleng equated the brutality of the killings with that displayed in the Wilson-family slayings in Bellevue in 1997.
Carneh is being held without bail, to be arraigned Thursday.
Maleng said he will decide within 30 days of arraignment whether to seek the death penalty. He said he knew of no mitigating factors - mental illness, drugs or alcohol - that might explain the killings.