Burkheimer case a revenge killing?

John P. "Diggy" Anderson and Yusef "Kevin" Jihad were furious at Rachel Burkheimer and began planning her abduction several days before she was kidnapped and shot to death, according to charges filed yesterday against two of the eight people accused of participating in Burkheimer's abduction and death.

Anderson, Burkheimer's ex-boyfriend, and Jihad were angry about Burkheimer somehow setting them up, according to charging papers filed in Snohomish County Superior Court. The court documents don't say what that setup was.

The information was contained in the charges filed against Tony J. Williams, 20, of south Everett and Jeff S. "Fats" Barth, 22, of Everett. Both were charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping.

Nathan T. Lovelace, 16, of Lynnwood, was charged in Snohomish County District Court yesterday with conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping.

Conspiring with six other men, Anderson, 20, and Jihad, 32, lured Burkheimer to Jihad's house on Sept. 23 where she was bound, beaten and gagged. Later that night, she was stripped, told to lay in a freshly dug grave and shot to death, according to the affidavit accompanying the charges.

Eight men have been charged in connection with the case. Two have agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for their testimony against the other defendants.

Maurice C. Rivas, 18, of Lynnwood, who signed a plea agreement last week, told investigators that after Burkheimer had been tied up and beaten, Williams and Anderson laughed about the possibility of extorting money from Burkheimer's uncle, according to the affidavit.

Burkheimer, 18, of Marysville, was last seen by her friends when she told them she was taking an acquaintance to the airport on Sept. 23. Her father reported her missing on Sept. 27.

Rivas told police that the initial plan was for Anderson, Jihad, Barth and John A. "Whit" Whitaker to abduct Burkheimer from Lovelace's house on Sept. 23. But the plan failed when Lovelace's father came home from work early that afternoon, according to jail documents released earlier this week.

As a backup plan, Matthew A. Durham persuaded Burkheimer to ride with him to Jihad's duplex where Anderson wanted to talk to her. Soon after arriving, Anderson attacked Burkheimer and she was tied up in the garage, according to search warrants.

Durham, 17, of Lynnwood, drove Anderson, Rivas, Whitaker and Burkheimer to a remote gravel pit near Gold Bar that night. Anderson, Whitaker and Rivas dug a hole, then Whitaker took Burkheimer's clothing and jewelry. Anderson forced her to lie in the grave and shot her, according to charging affidavits.

Durham pleaded guilty on Wednesday to first-degree murder.

Anderson of Mukilteo and Whitaker, 22, of Everett have been charged with aggravated first-degree murder. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will be seeking the death penalty.

While Jihad has been charged with first-degree murder, his attorney, Frederick Leatherman, withdrew from the case on Thursday.

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