$10 million bail set for South Park murder suspect

| Crime | South Park | West Seattle news

Just talked with King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe, who says bail has just been set at $10 million for 23-year-old Isaiah Kalebu, arrested last night in connection with the South Park burglary/attack that killed 36-year-old Teresa Butz and injured her partner. We expect to get some legal documents in the case shortly and will add new information here once they’re in. ADDED 2:35 PM: A few details from those documents, including the major evidence they have against Kalebu (and added early Sunday – a link to a followup article with more on how police figured out who they were looking for):

The documents sent by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office are not formal charges – the deadline for filing those is Wednesday. They do give a brief summary of the crime and how Kalebu was identified. He is being held on five potential charges, as also noted on the King County Jail register – murder, attempted murder, 2 counts of rape, burglary. These documents say he was identified through “latent fingerprints” at the scene and DNA from the scene. They also say one of the items he was wearing when arrested at Magnuson Park last night may have had blood on it.

ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: A seattletimes.com followup this morning reveals how police figured out Kalebu was the man they were looking for.

JimmyG July 25, 2009 (2:26 pm)

WSB, why do you continue to follow this story?

I understood when the cops put out a sketch and video and they were seeking him, but that’s done now and this crime has no more connection to WS than any other of the many serious crimes that happen in neighborhoods around Seattle.

Yes, South Park is close to WS, but I come here to WSB for the micro-news of my neighborhood.

I really hope we’re not going to have to follow this case here ad nauseam for the entire length of time (which will be years) it takes to get through the system.

There is enough coverage of this case via the P-I/Times/KOMO/KIRO/KING cartel that it doesn’t need reporting here on WSB now that he’s in custody.

There is no WS link to the the crime at hand. His attending Middle School here years ago is a tenuous WS link at best.

jiggers July 25, 2009 (2:31 pm)

Holy *%%#. That almost has to be one of the highest bails set in the country by far this year.

Babs July 25, 2009 (2:43 pm)

Its in our backyard – that is why WSB is reporting it. I check this blog and I’m darned please they report major stories too. Crime like that affects everyone and guess what? Prevention is a cure and that includes being informed prior to capture. I say if you don’t want to read it just scroll on down…

WSB July 25, 2009 (2:47 pm)

JG, we will be covering major developments in this case. Frankly, I don’t trust any citywide news source to follow it through, and there is currently no neighborhood news source in South Park, which has multiple ties to West Seattle, including being in the same police precinct and the same public-school reference area (Concord in South Park is considered a West Seattle school). We have the bandwidth to cover more, not less, with paid professional freelancers assisting (Kathy Mulady did a fine job at the memorial the other night, which was organized by a West Seattle woman who used to live next to the victims in SP; that night we also covered the White Center Community Safety Coalition, Nickelsville, the Delridge playground opening, the Admiral park concert series’ debut, the delivery of a donated King County van to Elizabeth House in High Point, and the Design Review Board meeting, with five people in all working on our coverage, all compensated).
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We do cover a fair amount of stories that aren’t strictly within West Seattle boundaries – TR

keep it going July 25, 2009 (3:12 pm)

This is s fight for Teresa – I am glad that WSB is following this and hope they keep this fine reporting going. Although I agree it is hard to focus on this individual I like to think of following it until justice is served. People don’t have to read it – just like I do when I read Seattle Times. I see headlines that are awful and I move on.

As far as bail I wish they set NO BAIL. When there is a $1,000 bail people only have to pay $100 to get out — so with $10 million do they only have to play $10k? Which is still a lot but no bail would have been the right thing in this case. I would like to believe he never gets out on bail with his family issues.

AmyT July 25, 2009 (3:34 pm)

We’re all lucky this blog exists and can access it’s contents for free. It’s hard work doing what they do for us. You act like WSB is posting nothing but MJ investigation updates or something.

I recently moved from WS to Burien and I still frequent this blog because of the great coverage the WSB staff post. But I suppose since I no longer live in WS I have no right to be here or even posting. Please.

WSB keep on doing what you do so well…posting local news we ALL can trust…whether it’s about West Seattle or any of the towns nearby!

WSB July 25, 2009 (3:58 pm)

“keepitgoing,” it’s usually 10 percent so I believe he’d have to post $1 million. And re: JG’s point, it’s a valid one to ask, and I hope I have clarified where we stand. We have covered some other news in South Park as well, particularly regarding the Duwamish Waterway/River cleanup.
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Another example of not-strictly-WS-but-we-covered-it that comes to mind, albeit smaller in scope, is the night the big Pacific Sheet Metal fire broke out along the Spokane St. Viaduct. Nobody paid much attention to it, not even the citywide media. But it became somewhat local because everyone from WS who drives by saw it and wondered what was going on. I remember reporting the cause of it a day or two later and noticing nobody else had bothered to follow it up … the Fire Department put the cause on its media-line recording without fanfare and I happened to be calling to check. We also reported a benefit for the owner of another business that lost everything in the fire.
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Citywide media isn’t negligent in its lack of followup so much as, they have an entire huge region to cover – all of Western Washington – so much as they might want to do followups, they have to go off chasing some heinous case in Mason County, or Whatcom County, or North Bend, or even Wenatchee (did you know Seattle TV’s coverage area technically includes Wenatchee?), and suddenly the followup on the Seattle case falls by the wayside … BTDT in my TV management days … you only have so many crews to spread across so much ground to cover.
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TR

Jersey Jill July 25, 2009 (4:20 pm)

Good Grief Jimmy G take a pill, I think the real question is why does it bother you so much? Many of us don’t subscribe to the paper and follow breaking news here, and wake up South Park is Part of West Seattle. I want to be informed because knowledge is power and the man commited crimes in many different county’s. Like Babs stated scroll down if you don’t want to read it. the WSB is a valuable tool to get information out fast to thousands of citizens. I for one am glad the blog has followed it.

kstineback July 25, 2009 (4:37 pm)

thanks for following this story WSB! i for one am so happy that you have been providing details, especially on the no-link-to-south park break-in at morgan junction right after this murder occurred. personally, before this guy was nabbed, i was sitting home thinking to myself that my partner and i live in gatewood, about 5 min drive to south park. what if this is a hate crime? and even if it was random, he could be a serial killer so everyone should be more aware, in my opinion. plus, i think that it has been mentioned a few times that he went to denny middle school, so there is a west seattle connection there too. thanks wsb, you guys are the best in the city!

Cheryl July 25, 2009 (5:11 pm)

I’m with the majority of posters here. I’m really glad WSB has been covering this story so closely!

Keep it up TR & WSB.

WSB supporter July 25, 2009 (5:27 pm)

A HUGE Thank You to WSB for following this story. A terrible tragedy that has affected many people in WS and outside our boundaries. Let me just say that when I grabbed the computer this afternoon to get an update on this exact story, I didn’t go to the Seattle Times website or the PI…..I went immediately to the West Seattle Blog!!! I know I can trust the WSB for honest, sensitive and thorough reporting. Keep up the GREAT work.

WSB July 25, 2009 (5:34 pm)

Thanks for the kind words – we appreciate hearing all perspectives, since we are a small organization and don’t have an “editorial board” to toss things around – although to be honest, many “old media” orgs don’t either – they have one or two middle managers who do most of the deciding (that was me) and if something’s majorly serious you take it to the big boss. Anyway, one update – from seattletimes.com – they talked to a deputy prosecutor who says they’re considering seeking the death penalty:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009535081_southpark25m.html

great work July 25, 2009 (6:16 pm)

Thanks for keeping up on this story. The “micro-news” which JimmyG refers to is frequently less relevant to WS than “hard news” happening in neighboring areas. WSB often does a better job than any other source at covering news which either has a WS angle or is of general interest. South Park, like White Center, Arbor Heights, Highland Park, etc., are West Seattle’s neighbors and what happens there *should* be of interest to all but the most insulated of WS residents.

I read in this morning’s Seattle Times that the suspect had been arrested, but I was left with a question mostly answered by this story: what evidence do they have? Is the case going to be solid? Sounds like they have good evidence.

Thanks!

biankat July 25, 2009 (8:09 pm)

wow, jg, why the chip? i agree with the others…continued coverage of developments in this case are much appreciated. i, too, find that the Times’s reporting can leave me wanting to know more. when i need information of any developing stories in the West Seattle area i come straight to WSB to find out. they do a great job.

lina July 25, 2009 (8:29 pm)

i am glad wsb is covering this story. it hit spot in me and i feel more affected by it than other recent ‘heinous headlines.’ i feel deeply saddened for the families of these women and wish for healing for theresa’s partner-i can imagine few if any things that could be more awful and violating than this crime.

do we know what the connection was to magnuson park? i work in one of the hangars and was there late yesterday evening. without knowing that was where this suspect was picked up, i found myself feeling uneasy in my office today. weird-

Anne July 25, 2009 (8:53 pm)

I think it’s great that WSB is covering this story. South Park is very close to West Seattle and, and as a single woman who lives alone on the east side of WS, I followed this story cloesly. I was truly relieved when I found out that this suspect was arrested. Keep up the good work, WSB!

JimmyG July 25, 2009 (9:08 pm)

WSB I appreciate your addressing my concern; while I don’t have to agree with your rationale it’s nice to have it explained.
And I can guarantee once the details come out on this crime the rest of the Seattle media will continue to cover it, this is one of those crimes that sadly, has legs.

And for keepitgoing, his bail is 10 million “cash only”, which means he’s only released if the full amount is paid, so in this case it’s essentially no bail.
The 10% amount bail for some to get released is when the bail is “bondable”.

Jill July 25, 2009 (9:59 pm)

Just another comment to say how glad I am to read about this in the well-written posts on WSB. Thanks, guys!

WSB July 26, 2009 (12:54 am)

Our specialty is hitting the main points. We don’t always get a chance to get all the background, but when it’s a big story we’ll point you elsewhere if somebody does – like this Times story just published:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009539037_southpark26m.html
which tells the rather amazing story of how police figured out who they were looking for. (It also explains what that video made public Friday night was from – a burglary attempt at Auburn City Hall.)
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One major question that remains, though … why South Park, why that house.

RIH July 26, 2009 (2:01 am)

Denise Kalebu said that when she ordered her son out of the house he said “enjoy your last day on earth,” court charging papers said. When his mother grabbed a pair of scissors to protect herself, Kalebu said “you’re gonna die … you’re no match for me … those scissors are no match for me or my dog.”

happy to see this POS off the streets

There is no amount of rehabilitation for sh*t like this.

EmmyJane July 26, 2009 (10:43 am)

I’m continuously amazed by what people will complain about.

I’m sorry you have to put up with all the unnecessary criticism WSB. Please know that the majority of us are extremely happy with what you do.

EmmyJane July 26, 2009 (10:47 am)

PS- I might be the only one that cares, but if you come across it WSB, can you also let us know what happens to his poor doggie? I hate to jump to conclusions, but I’m guessing if he was this violent then he’s passed those traits onto his dog and it will be “destroyed” (I hate that stupid PC term, lets call it what it is, killing a dog.) The dog will probably be another victim of his.

Sorry, comment time is over.