Tacoma couple killed Renton man, torched his car, King County deputies say

King County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Tacoma couple they say was responsible for the beating death of a 67-year-old man near Renton last week.

A 39-year-old man was booked into the King County Jail on suspicion of murder, arson and residential burglary, sheriff’s spokesman Ryan Abbott said. The man’s 37-year-old wife was booked on suspicion of rendering criminal assistance, residential burglary and arson.

According to Abbott:

The 67-year-old was in his home in the 16700 block of 196th Avenue Southeast near Renton on Sept. 19 when the Tacoma man knocked on the door. When the resident answered the door, the Tacoma man pepper-sprayed him, then bashed him in the head with an unknown object, killing him.

Handymen coming to the home found the man’s body wrapped in a tarp and comforter in a shed on his property, his ankles and wrists bound. A new hole had been dug at the base of the home’s back steps.

After the man had been dead for some time, the Tacoma man drove the victim’s vehicle to his home. Once he saw news of the homicide investigation, he and his wife drove the vehicle nearby and set it alight.

King County sheriff’s deputies searched the couple’s home Wednesday and said they found some of the victim’s belongings inside.

Detectives believe the woman knew the victim was dead and helped ransack his home instead of notifying law enforcement.

This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 7:01 PM.