Teen says Opel 'nagged' him to find a killer
Jeffrey Grote said that during the few days he lived with Opel and her family in the spring of 2001, she repeatedly talked about hiring people to kill Jerry Heimann. Grote at first refused, but he said he changed his mind when Opel promised to buy him a car and give his friends cash.
"She said if we got rid of Jerry Heimann, he had $40,000 in his bank account," Grote testified quietly in an Everett courtroom yesterday.
Grote and four other teens, including Opel's daughter Heather, killed Heimann when he walked into his home April 13, 2001. Barbara Opel worked as a live-in caretaker for Heimann's mother.
Grote, now 19 and facing the possibility of 50 years in prison when he is sentenced for Heimann's murder, recounted the slaying yesterday during Barbara Opel's trial for aggravated first-degree murder.
Grote said the teens hid in Heimann's house waiting for him to return home. He said that after Heimann walked in, he came up from behind him and clubbed him with his girlfriend's aluminum softball bat.
"He stumbled forward and fell into the kitchen," Grote said.
Heimann fell to his knees and asked Grote who he was. Then two other boys, Kyle Boston, 14, and Boston's 13-year-old cousin, pummeled Heimann with miniature baseball bats. When the two boys became frightened and fled, Heather Opel, Grote's then-13-year-old girlfriend, and her friend Marriam Oliver picked up weapons and joined in the attack, Grote said.
Prosecutors say Barbara Opel was in the basement at the time of the slaying.
After Heimann was dead, Grote said Barbara Opel ordered everyone to mop up Heimann's blood while she ran to the store and rented a carpet cleaner.
That night, Heimann's body was wrapped in his bedsheets and driven to the Tulalip Reservation, where it was pushed down a ravine. The body was discovered days later, after Barbara Opel's 11-year-old son led detectives to the site.
There is no evidence that Barbara Opel, now 39, participated in the slaying. Prosecutors say she bribed the five teens to kill Heimann because she wanted his money. If convicted of aggravated first-degree murder, she could become the first woman sentenced to Washington's death row. All five teens who participated in the slaying have been convicted.
While Grote was promised a car, Boston, who pleaded guilty but also has not been sentenced, was guaranteed money to buy a gun, prosecutors say. Boston's cousin, who isn't being named because he was prosecuted as a juvenile, also was promised money. Heather Opel was promised a dirt bike. It's unclear why Oliver participated. Heather Opel and Oliver each have been sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Grote said yesterday that he first heard Barbara Opel talk about having Heimann killed the day after his first date with Heather at a Marysville bowling alley.
When an earlier plan fell through, he testified, Barbara Opel solicited him to do the job. When he refused, she asked him if any of his friends would, Grote said.
He later agreed to participate in the slaying, he testified.
Grote, who has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder but won't be sentenced until after Barbara Opel is tried, is a key witness. Prosecutors are recommending a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony.
But Barbara Opel's attorneys blame him for Heimann's slaying.
Pete Mazzone is expected to cross-examine Grote this morning.
Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com