47 Replies to "Update: $500K bail for West Seattle murder suspect; new details"

• moxilot February 17, 2011 (2:56 pm)

  “Half the sum” for someone recently transplanted, with possible mental issues, and suspected of murder by stabbing a person in their chest?!

• csw February 17, 2011 (2:57 pm)

  Do we know yet what their relationship was? If the suspect is a danger to the community, why not keep the bail at 1 mil? My sympathy to the family and friends of Mr. Jeebs.

• CU February 17, 2011 (3:04 pm)

  Thanks for the timely work on this story WSB. A terrible tragedy, indeed. Please keep us posted if this creep manages to post bail.

• rutrow February 17, 2011 (4:45 pm)

  “…it was discovered that there had been prior contact between the suspect and the victim regarding a future sexual encounter… He described the scene down to the drinks they had, the suspected narcotics used…”

  Seems Mr. Stabile had some interesting extra-curriculars going on here. Unfortunate that it cost him his life by this wacko.

• Born To Be Mild February 17, 2011 (5:24 pm)

  WSB covers the story like no other! Commenters spotting the perp, wow. And talk about probable cause! If all this is true, the only thing missing is the dialogue during the attack and a video of the perp diving into the ravine.

  • WSB February 17, 2011 (6:16 pm)

    Well, we are the current titleholders for the “community collaboration” award from the national Online News Association. And by “we,” as I wrote at the time, I mean everybody in WSB-land. Timeline from the comments on the original report:
    .
    8:52 am – “Westside D” reports that a little more than an hour earlier, he saw a 20ish man climb out of the ravine.
    https://westseattleblog.com/2011/02/police-search-stabbing-on-44th-sw#comment-773166
    .
    9:41 am – “35this35mph” says he saw someone of the same description walking toward Fauntleroy/California around 8:20 am
    https://westseattleblog.com/2011/02/police-search-stabbing-on-44th-sw#comment-773187
    35/35 calls the police
    .
    Shortly thereafter, we heard police dispatched to check out the sighting. (Westside D also called the police.) We also heard something on the scanner about 35th SW; shortly thereafter, we went to an interview in that area, and the people we were talking to confirmed that the police had been by asking if they saw anyone/anything unusual. The documents released today list 35th SW as the arrest location (but with a nonexistent block # and a time that doesn’t seem to match, either, but this is very preliminary paperwork) … TR

• Born To Be Mild February 17, 2011 (5:52 pm)

  @rutrow: I didn’t mention that specificly because we don’t get to blame the victim here. Do you like the Ramones? Here’s the lyrics to 53rd & 3rd. http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/95935/#comment
  I wonder if DeeDee Ramone was ever in a similar situation to the suspect in this murder?

• cclarue February 17, 2011 (6:06 pm)

  TR and Patrick the product you created let the people in West Seattle have a place to share information that otherwise could have gone unreported!!!! That is amazing thank you again for your commitment and dedication!!! We are blessed to gave you!! And to the people of West Seattle who read and post here!! Awesome job!! You just never know how you can help someone!

• Paul February 17, 2011 (6:20 pm)

  odd First thing I thought was some kind of sex thing gone wrong

• Gyngersnap February 17, 2011 (7:38 pm)

  Paul, sadly, that was my first thought too.

• 35this35mph February 17, 2011 (7:50 pm)

  Thank you WSB for being another amazing West Seattle “Junction” where we can all meet, compare notes and get things done. I am glad to have been able to help the police get this guy, but I am freaked out to think that I took notice of a (presumed) murderer leaving the scene. Just weird. I did not know Hokum Jeebs myself but I have been moved by the outpouring of remembrance. I had my 40th birthday at Hokum Hall where we were regaled on the Mighty Wurlitzer by Lou Mehgor (spelling?). I imagine he must be in a pretty hurt state right now. Godspeed Hokum.

• Rutrow February 17, 2011 (8:04 pm)

  @Born: Not blaming the victim. No one deserves this fate. Just stating the obvious from the report though that the victim seems to have been possibly involved in sketchy activities with an apparently violent individual. It’s an unfortunate situation.

• neighbor February 17, 2011 (8:48 pm)

  Great collaborative job on catching this guy!

• A February 17, 2011 (9:29 pm)

  I agree – not blaming the victim but just pointing out what the alleged suspect said. Drinking, drugs and some ‘future sexual encounter.’ I don’t know. Sad that he’s gone but I can’t wait to learn the truth about what happened. Sometimes the victim isn’t always so innocent.

• C Craig February 17, 2011 (9:59 pm)

  WSB, you are stunningly on top of everything that happens in W.Seattle, as usual. My husband and I have trained ourselves to go directly to your site to get the news as soon as anything seems amiss anywhere in the neighborhood. Once again we were not disappointed when, at 12:30 a.m. just minutes after this terrible tragedy happened, we logged on to find you were already reporting it. We saw and heard the sirens and knew that something very unusual was going on in our normally quiet neighborhood. Once we discovered it was a stabbing and the suspect had escaped, we were extra vigilant all night.

  And to the observant neighbor who noticed the suspect climbing out of the ravine in the early morning…I read your post within the hour after you sent it and was so grateful to WSB for providing the forum for you to share your concerns and for your neighbors who encouraged you to take action.

  We are so fortunate to live in a neighborhood like West Seattle with people like those who make WSB available to us. We are a stronger, safer, more connected community because of you.

  My sincere gratitude,

  Cindy Craig
  Fauntleroy/Lincoln Park Resident

• Nancy February 17, 2011 (10:34 pm)

  We have lost a consummate entertainer.
  How many people can play the saw???

  And to 35this35mph: it’s Magor. Nancy

• cjboffoli February 17, 2011 (11:37 pm)

  I wonder….what is the value of spending time articulating how the victim’s choices led to his demise? Is it simply to reinforce some kind of puritanical objective? To remind us all that if we do something that others consider deviant or abnormal that we risk paying a heavy price? Couldn’t we all just as easily be stabbed in the chest walking up the block for a cup of coffee? Sometimes the world is just that random and cruel.
  .
  And beyond that, saying you “can’t wait to learn the truth” about what happened to this private person in their private life… What prurient interest does that serve? I didn’t know this man and, from the sound of it, his late night activities were very different from mine. But he’s dead now so if he was culpable for taking risks that led to his violent death he has paid the price with his life and, I think, perhaps deserves at least the respect to not be judged by strangers in a public forum. I mean, sure, everyone here obviously has a right to their opinion. But I’m of the opinion that there are as many ways to live as there are people in this world.

• NotMe February 18, 2011 (12:18 am)

  I am at a loss for words good enough to describe what Mr. Boffoli just wrote. It is the best thing I have ever read on this blog. You have hit the proverbial nail on the head of what has been bothering me (as well as a few others) recently about people on this blog. Well done, sir.

• valvashon February 18, 2011 (2:41 am)

  Quote: Couldn’t we all just as easily be stabbed in the chest walking up the block for a cup of coffee? Sometimes the world is just that random and cruel.

  Actually, no. Random attacks do happen, as evidenced by the stabbing incidents on Capitol Hill last year. But far more often, the victim and suspect/perp know each other. Who you spend time with is a major factor in determining what happens to you. This doesn’t mean you can’t leave the house, but it does mean you have to know the character of your friends.

• Kayleigh February 18, 2011 (5:42 am)

  I appreciate your comments, CJ. Though there are always those who are prone to judge, I wonder if it’s kind of a survival mechanism to analyze what happened. When I read about crime happening to others, I often automatically think, “Well, I don’t ride THAT bus,” or “That’s a crummy neighborhood unlike mine,” and thoughts like that. Or when there’s a fire in someone’s house, I want to know how and why, so I can hopefully prevent a fire in *my* house.
  .
  False reassurances to my inner self, maybe, because the universe is awfully random. But it doesn’t mean that there is always a mean-spirited level of judgment behind it.

• morcaffeineplease February 18, 2011 (5:56 am)

  Well said, cj.
  Blogs are intended for comment, but trolls on the blog just love to gossip, stir up conspiracies, and judge. Fine, that’s your right, but it sure makes you look small and shallow.

  Hokum, what a life you’ve lived! r.i.p.

• Mona Delgado February 18, 2011 (7:34 am)

  I also want to thank the blog. I live in the neighborhood and the blog has been a vital source of information for me. I woke up that morning to the headlines on the radio that a man was stabbed to death a block from my house and I woke with a terrible feeling of dread and fright. The blog was the first place I turned to for further information and that information from a source that was true has been a huge comfort. I drive by the house daily and each time I do, I feel sorrow for those effected but I am so thankful to the blog for staying on top of this and also, giving my neighbors a voice! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

• charlabob February 18, 2011 (7:42 am)

  Thank you, Christopher.

• mitch February 18, 2011 (7:46 am)

  I second NotMe’s sentiments about Mr. Boffoli’s wise and compassionate comments. Thank you, Christopher.

• 35this35mph February 18, 2011 (8:13 am)

  Yes, well said Christopher. Thank you.

• Lucian February 18, 2011 (8:13 am)

  Well said CJB!

• miws February 18, 2011 (8:16 am)

  Yes, well done Christopher.

  .

  You stated it much more eloquently, and while remaining sensitive to the memory of the victim, and to his lived ones, than I would have been able to.

  .

  Mike

• Denny February 18, 2011 (8:18 am)

  Boffo Boffili!

  Well said deserves to be well heard & remembered, not just in these comments, in the forums, in our full lives.

  Thanks.

• C February 18, 2011 (8:28 am)

  Schadenfreude (pronounced /ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/ About this sound Audio (US) (help·info), German pronunciation: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏdə]) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.[1] This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages, and has been calqued in Danish and Norwegian as skadefryd and Swedish as skadeglädje.

• steve February 18, 2011 (8:52 am)

  What a tragedy. Years ago, Mr Jeebs and company were in the process of installing the Mighty Wurlitzer at Hokum Hall. I was walking up the alley with my dog, and they asked for a hand assisting with lifting the organ pieces into place. I readily agreed and helped. I thought at the time that this was a nice and intriguing fellow who was bringing some cool culture to the ‘hood, which at that time was pretty empty of such. RIP, Hokum

• Amanda February 18, 2011 (8:54 am)

  I am just in amazement at the observation powers of 35/35 and Westside D. Bravo to you both on going with that little nagging gut thing to call the police. As for the judgments of others, nobody is perfect and that includes you.

• Scooterista February 18, 2011 (9:19 am)

  Chris, thank you so much for that thoughtful and forthright post. What came to mind when I read the police report was that people who have just been caught after murdering someone are not necessarily going to tell the truth and should not, perhaps, be taken at face value. It read like the statement of someone who was saying anything and everything to discredit the victim so that his (the murderer’s) actions would somehow seem justified and therefore permissable. Some of the allegations may be true, but time and time again we have seen murderers make claims that were complete fabrications in order to distance themselves from the deep moral wrongness of what they had just done.
  .
  Let’s let poor Professor Hokum be honored for who he was, and not for what some punk said he did. He and his partner deserve that kind of kindness and respect from us, their community, in the face of this terrible tragedy. After all, anyone can read this blog, including those who knew and loved him deeply, and I would not want to accidentally add in any way to their pain and grief.

• pjmanley February 18, 2011 (9:33 am)

  Judge not, lest ye be judged. Off the high horses everyone. The irony and hypocrisy is neck deep already.

• doggydodo February 18, 2011 (11:40 am)

  Those who say “judge not, lest ye be judged” are in fact judging those who are judging. I also immediately thought that something was not right in Denmark (no pun intended on “C”‘s comment above about “skadefryd”). Unfortunately, young wayward people are sometimes chosen to be groomed or victimized by older/wiser people with sexual intentions. I am not saying I believe that is what happened here, good grief, the poor man just got killed and is not around to defend himself. Just that it is not that uncommon for less fortunate people (homeless, prostitutes, those with mental illness…) to become victimized by those with more power. I am judging here…but I do agree this deceased man should not be tried on a public forum, or connected to this type of accusation w/o proof. But it is human nature to try and find a “reason” for bad events — so that we can say “if he hadn’t done xyz, he would not have been killed” that way, in our minds, we are safe from the evil in the world… but we are not really. We can increase the odds that we’ll be safe by not placing ourselves in compromising situations or dangerous places. We do have some control. That is probably why some of us love the WSB and the up-to-the minute reporting…it gives us a sense that we know what is going on in the neighborhood and that feels like we are more secure or in control.

• Born To Be Mild February 18, 2011 (12:23 pm)

  I’m just curious. I’ll never know the entire story of the Professor and the Punk, but there’s some real drama here and I find it compelling. I want to know why a 60yo entertainer was drinking and drugging with a young man. What was the cause of the stabbing? Was it a robbery or an attempted rape? I don’t know.
  Personally, I have no interest in eulogizing the Professor. But I certainly understand those who care more about the loss of a man than the events that preceded his death.
  It’s news and it’s captured here. I absolutely love the opinions that are expressed here and the moderation that keeps the conversation civil and informative.

• pjmanley February 18, 2011 (1:04 pm)

  No. Judge NOT. Instead, learn “just the facts” (ma’am). I don’t think we can regulate taste. Trying to do so chills the conversation. We should always strive for dignity and respect, but not if it means condemning people as “gossips” anymore than the judgmental should be labeled as “snobs.”

  C’mon folks, we’re all neighbors trying to reconcile a major blow to our collective security. People don’t always act as they should under stress. I think we can tolerate a couple folks blurting an honest thought through their fingertips once in awhile without castigating them to get their minds out of the gutter!

  I say this despite sharing most of CJ’s sentiments.

• Lura February 18, 2011 (3:10 pm)

  My opinion is that this entire comment thread should be probably be deleted by the moderators. The thread reflects poorly on the community and the blog.

• Ryan B. February 18, 2011 (3:37 pm)

  Really, Lura?
  .
  A good chunk of the comments are around how the community pulled together to assist in the apprehension of the suspect.
  .
  People will judge. I know I do and i did in my reaction to your comment. It makes us human.
  .
  I see a community interested, involved and willing to express their views and that brings me happiness…even if I don’t agree with some that are presented in this thread.

• Lura February 18, 2011 (3:42 pm)

  Surely the posts finding entertainment value in wild prurient speculation serve little community purpose. And of course if the moderators delete the most egregiously out-of-place posts, many of the other posts will seem out-of-place and wouldn’t make much sense.
  .
  And of course the Blog staff probably has better things to do with their time than to sort out a thread that has gone wildly off- topic anyway.

• sleepynb February 18, 2011 (5:44 pm)

  I don’t think I’m interested in lurid details. I’m interested in the behavior that put the Professor at risk. If it was a completely random act, well then so be it. I have to continue to steel myself against random acts of violence. However, if someone is practicing some kind of sex and drugs behavior, then I can rest easy. Not righteously, but that’s risky behavior I don’t practice. Not that I’m any puritan; I have my own risky behavior. Just not that.

• cjboffoli February 18, 2011 (6:00 pm)

  Just to clarify, I don’t fault people for being curious. I understand it is human nature. And I don’t criticize Tracy for publishing the information she uncovered and for continuing to relay the details of this story with the good judgment she has. I just wanted to throw those questions out there.
  .
  I’d be a hypocrite to not admit that I too am intrigued to hear the colorful details of any story. Let’s face it, I was one of the people standing out at the crime scene at 3am trying to figure out what was happening. I’m often in a position where I’m training a camera lens on the lives of people I don’t know. The truth and the complexity of life often surprises me. But I also try to constantly ask myself: WHY am I curious about the gory details? What need does this fulfill? What does my take on this story say about me and my preconceptions?
  .
  And then some tinges of judgment began to roll in. It is one thing to develop judgments in our own heads, but then to launch them out into a public forum in the tone of…. Oh, drugs…deviant sex, SEE… that’s what happens….
  I think there is a fine line that is easy to cross.
  .
  I can’t say I respect some news organizations across town who felt the need to publish a sensationalized headline about how this murder had SEXUAL connotations. I see this in the mainstream press all the time and it bothers me. The worst example of this was watching a TV reporter several years ago grilling that young Mormon girl Elizabeth Smart for the details of her kidnapping and rape. I don’t need to know the details of how she was raped. It was bad enough the victim had to actually go through that, let alone relive it so the TV media could titillate their viewers.

• Born To Be Mild February 18, 2011 (7:30 pm)

  I can tell you why I’m curious. Exceptional behavior. I’m interested in someone who can take a good photo or play a piano mounted on a bike. I can’t do that. I’m not interested in the sexual aspect, that falls into the category of common activity, who cares. But it is exceptional behavior to plunge a knife into someone else. I don’t care about the gory details, I’ve seen blood. I just want to know what triggered the attack, because it’s exceptional. If it happened every day, it isn’t news.

• NotMe February 18, 2011 (8:57 pm)

  Oh my God… now you are going to try to rationalize being judgemental? Nice try calling it “being curious.” Unfortunately, you will be able to get your answers soon enough. I just hope it isn’t here.

• tab February 19, 2011 (10:54 pm)

  The bottom line is that this man’s alleged risky behavior endangered his own life and really that of his own neighbors. We are very lucky that this alleged murderer did not go on and hurt or kill others right after this confrontation escalated to murder, such as what recently happened in NYC after a man killed his ex-girlfriend and her mother. It’s not like this is a memorial website and even the topic itself is about the bail hearing for the suspect, so what is wrong with discussing the different aspects of the crime?

• doggril February 21, 2011 (10:16 am)

  cjboffoli – Actually, there is value in understanding the circumstances surrounding the poor man’s demise. It has to do with one’s perception of one’s own safety. If it was a truly random act, then my perception of my safety in that neighborhood is impacted. If it was related to the man’s participating in risky behavior, then I feel safer, as I don’t participate in that kind of risky behavior.

• gatewood February 22, 2011 (3:50 pm)

  any word if the suspect was charged today?

  • WSB February 22, 2011 (3:59 pm)

    Yes, charges have just been filed – got the note about 15 minutes ago but we’ve just gotten out of a 2-hour memorial service (for someone else). Story in a minute – TR

Sorry, comment time is over.