On the evening of March 14, the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) released the news that two suspects were arrested earlier that day in southern California in connection with the homicide of Island resident Curtis Engeland.
Authorities located the adult male and adult female suspects and took them into custody for allegedly defrauding and killing Engeland, 74, whose body was recently discovered by an outside agency in the Grays Harbor County city of Cosmopolis.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined Engeland’s death a homicide, noting in its March 11 online decedents list as a “sharp force injury of neck.”
A previous Reporter story notes that Engeland was last spotted at 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 23 in his residential area as noted in a report that his family filed with the police department on Feb. 24. He resided in the 3000 block of 62nd Avenue Southeast.
A KOMO report notes that the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree identify theft and first-degree theft charges against Philip Brewer, 32, and Christina Joel Hardy, 47. Prosecutors are requesting the suspects each be held on $5 million bail.
According to a press release, MIPD believes the suspects became acquainted with Engeland several months ago, financially defrauded him and then violently confronted him on the late evening of Feb. 23 at his home and used Engeland’s vehicle to exit the Island following the attack.
MIPD initially began investigating Engeland’s disappearance as a missing person case and Washington State Patrol activated a silver alert.
“However, later evidence indicated the victim was already deceased, and that the suspects were no longer in the Mercer Island area,” reads the press release. “Given the extremely sensitive nature of the investigation, these developments and other details were not made public while the investigation was continuing.”
Utilizing a GPS location history from the suspects’ cell phone activity, MIPD detectives and King County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue teams conducted a targeted search for Engeland’s remains in Grays Harbor County and located his body.
Recovering Engeland’s body “was critical in connecting the final pieces of the investigation linking the suspects to the crime,” said MIPD, adding that during the next week, detectives continuously worked the case while meticulously compiling forensic information and preparing to obtain arrest warrants for the suspects without alerting them that detectives were tracking their behavior and location.
During their robust investigation, detectives came to believe that the suspects departed Washington immediately after Engeland was killed, fled south in different rented vehicles and swapped out new cell phones to cover their path across two state borders and deep into California, MIPD noted. Authorities will extradite the suspects back to Washington to face homicide charges.
MIPD Chief Ed Holmes issued the following statement: “First and foremost, we must acknowledge Mr. Engeland’s family — when this incident was first reported to police as a missing person, we hoped for a better outcome. The family remained determined to help our investigation over the past few weeks and we hope some comfort can be found through the hard work being done to bring justice for Curtis and his loved ones.”
Island resident Ann McGovern posted on the police department’s Facebook page: “Kudos to MIPD for efforts in apprehending suspects beyond state lines. For a small island we seem to be experiencing disturbing levels of crime in past years. Please everyone be alert, keep (an) eye out and communicate with your neighbors for any suspicious activities.”
“The full investigation remains ongoing and additional updates will be provided when appropriate,” the police department said in a press release.
