SKYKOMISH, Wash. -- A 34-year-old man was found dead along a Skykomish logging road and police are investigating the death as a homicide.
The victim was identified as Brandt Stewart of Snohomish County.
Investigators haven't said exactly how Stewart died, only that the King County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as a homicide. Crime scene detectives are heading back to the scene this weekend to search for additional evidence and clues.
Meanwhile, Stewart's family tells KOMO News that Stewart was shot in the head and found by a hiker Monday morning. His backpack and wallet were missing." A hiker found him at the snowline, just laying in the road. There was no sign of a struggle. He was just shot dead and left," sister April Stewart said. "It’s wrong what they did. They shot him and left him laying there. It’s not right. He’s human. He didn’t deserve it," David Carmichael added. Mother Lisa Carmichael said her son had his personal struggles with drugs and his mental health. "Brandt was bi-polar. He was struggling with depression. He’s been homeless for two years," Carmichael said. "But he did have a safe place to stay. He was staying in a portable behind a church just a block down, straight down this street." Stewart also had a 4-year-old daughter. Despite Stewart's challenges, his family said he had a big heart. "He was a really kind, giving person. He’d give you the shirt off his back even though he didn’t have anything himself," Carmichael said.
Anyone with information about the victim’s death is urged to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.
Stewart's family have also started a memorial fund to help pay for funeral expenses.
December 30, 2019 at 12:40 pm PST
RED BLUFF, California. — Detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of a 34-year-old Snohomish County man.
The body of Brandt Stewart, 34, was found near a logging road in Skykomish last Monday.
Detectives identified the suspect in the murder as a 32-year-old man and said he left Washington for Red Bluff, California.
Detectives drove to Red Bluff over the weekend and worked with local law enforcement to locate the suspect.
The 32-year-old man was arrested as he left a hotel room and was booked into a California jail on investigation of murder, detectives said.
Officials said the suspect is currently awaiting extradition back to Washington. The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
“Despite limited resources in our Major Crimes Unit, our detectives worked tirelessly to identify and arrest a suspect in this case in just six days,” said Sheriff Mitzi G. Johanknecht. “I am proud of their work and grateful for their incredible efforts to seek justice for Mr. Stewart’s family.”
One bullet, one unanswered question in Skykomish shooting
Brandt Stewart was shot once in the head on a logging road. His sister wants to know why.
Brandt Stewart (Family photo via Facebook)
SKYKOMISH — Two days after the winter solstice, a half-hour before sunrise, a hiker found a man’s body on a logging road near Skykomish.
His hands were in his pockets, and he had been shot once in the head, according to a King County sheriff’s deputy’s report. A single spent 9mm shell casing was on the ground nearby.
On Dec. 29, detectives arrested the alleged shooter in Northern California. Jeremy Tod Staeheli, 32, was charged in King County Superior Court with second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. His bail was set at $2 million.
Brandt Stewart, 34, grew up in Snohomish. He wasn’t a perfect person, but he didn’t deserve to die, said his sister, April Stewart.
He worked off and on, mostly as a contractor installing appliances, she said. He didn’t have a stable housing situation and would move from spot to spot, and most recently stayed at a shed outside of a church in Snohomish.
Despite living a hard life, Brandt Stewart was often kind and thoughtful, his sister said. With what little money he had, he would buy presents at the pawn shop for his friends and family. Once, he gave his mother a rock saying the words “I love you.”
He had been addicted to drugs much of his life. But he wasn’t violent, April Stewart said. He didn’t own a gun, let alone shoot one, she said.
April Stewart said she wonders why someone would shoot her brother, leaving a young girl without a father.
It’s a question she may never hear answered.
“He just killed my brother for no reason,” April Stewart said.
Detectives found Staeheli within six days. People who knew Brandt Stewart reportedly saw him and Staeheli the night before. Staeheli was driving a red Ford Mustang, and security footage from a gas station showed the car’s license plate.
In social media posts written after the shooting, Staeheli gave detectives more hints.
On the day Brandt Stewart’s body was found, Staeheli posted a photo of a cemetery, captioned, “Don’t wait on me. One day again.”
Many of the posts were nonsensical and described conspiracy theories.
One commenter asked, “are you okay?”
Staeheli responded: “the state said I have a mental incompetence so I’m playing the (expletive) out of that card. You know an acadamy award winning film so to say…hahahahaba.”
In pending charges in Snohomish County Superior Court for third- and fourth-degree assault, a judge has twice ordered Staeheli to undergo mental health treatment at a state facility for 45 days. He was released from custody in May, under conditions that he attend future court dates, undergo a mental health evaluation and follow treatment recommendations.
On Dec. 28, Staeheli shared on Facebook that he was in Hornbrook, Calif.
King County sheriff’s detectives drove to Northern California, fearing he was trying to escape. They worked with local law enforcement to find a red Ford Mustang at a Hampton Inn & Suites in Red Bluff.
Around 11 a.m., detectives arrested Staeheli as he left the hotel. He reportedly was carrying a 9mm handgun.
Staeheli said he had both the car and the gun for the past two weeks, and that the gun was the same one used in the alleged murder, according to court documents. He reportedly said he knew Brandt Stewart from high school, and that they occasionally smoked methamphetamine together. They grew up in Snohomish.
He claimed that he shot Brandt Stewart in self-defense, according to charging papers. They had gone on a drive and stopped on a forest road to find a place to go to the bathroom. Outside the car, Staeheli said he turned around to see Brandt Stewart holding a knife in his hand. That’s when Staeheli allegedly shot him.
Detectives noted that Staeheli gave details that only the shooter would have known, including that Brandt Stewart had been shot in the forehead.
April Stewart said she didn’t hate Staeheli, but hoped to see him go to prison and get any mental health treatment that he might need.
“I hope he spends life in prison thinking about the bad decisions he made that affects everyone around him, including his own family,” she said.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13.
Stewart’s family is planning a memorial.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: