Murder victim's family still craves explanation

It's been nearly a month since Rachel Burkheimer was found buried in a shallow grave, and her family still wonders why anyone would have hurt her.

Bill Burkheimer, the 18-year-old's father, yesterday said he and other relatives are frustrated with the conflicting versions of what happened during the days leading up to her death. Because the seven men charged in connection with his daughter's abduction, and their friends, have told police differing stories, Burkheimer said he is unsure whether his family ever will know what really happened.

Speaking publicly about the case for the first time, Burkheimer said of the seven suspects, "These are animals, self-centered and selfish. They're always going to discount their involvement."

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office and prosecutors have not disclosed a motive for the slaying.

Burkheimer said that when his family realized Rachel was missing, they called her friends and searched for her car. From Karrie Roberts, a friend, the woman's family learned that Rachel feared that her ex-boyfriend, John P. "Diggy" Anderson, wanted to kill her.

Roberts, who lives in Lake Stevens, told police that Rachel never explained why she feared Anderson. Roberts said she last saw Rachel on Sept. 23 when the woman told her she was taking someone "creepy" to the airport as a favor for a friend, according to a search warrant released this week.

"No one in our family had any notion she was being threatened," Bill Burkheimer said. "This is a loving and trusting family. Rachel was always able to come to any of us if she had a problem. There is nothing we wouldn't have done for Rachel."

Anderson, 20, of Mukilteo; Matthew A. Durham, 17, of Lynnwood; Maurice C. Rivas, 18, of Lynnwood; John A. "Whit" Whitaker, 22, of Everett; Yusef "Kevin" Jihad, 32, of south Everett; Jeff S. Barth, 22, of south Everett; and Tony J. Williams, 20, of Des Moines, are all being held in the Snohomish County Jail. Anderson, Durham and Rivas have been charged with aggravated first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Whitaker has been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Jihad, Barth and Williams have been charged with first-degree kidnapping.

According to police, Durham and Burkheimer were together at a friend's house Sept. 23. They agreed to meet Anderson at Jihad's duplex, and soon after they arrived, Anderson attacked Rachel.

She was bound, gagged and beaten. She was eventually shoved into a large, black duffel bag and placed in the back of Durham's sport-utility vehicle with a pick and shovels taken from Jihad's yard.

Durham, Anderson, Rivas and Whitaker took her to a gravel pit outside of Gold Bar. A grave was dug, Rachel's clothing and jewelry were stripped from her, and Anderson shot her to death, police say, and her clothing, jewelry and the carpet she sat on while tied up in the garage were all burned.

Durham led detectives to Burkheimer's body Oct. 4, and later Rivas took them to the place where the items had been burned.

Prosecutors are expected to upgrade the charges against Jihad, Barth, Williams and Whitaker when they refile the case in Superior Court this month. Because prosecutors have filed aggravated first-degree-murder charges against Anderson and Rivas, they have the option of pursuing the death penalty. That decision has not been made, but the two still face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.

Because Durham is a juvenile, the maximum sentence he faces is life in prison without parole.

Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com.