sarahhod
02-05-2009, 05:14 AM
Diamond helps reopen murder case
Man charged in 1996 slaying
By LEVI PULKKINEN (levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com)
P-I REPORTER
If prosecutors are correct, diamonds are no friends to Myron Wynn.
Then again, if prosecutors are correct, Myron Wynn was no friend to Bob Wykel, a 66-year-old man who disappeared from a Burien parking lot more than a decade ago.
Earlier this week, King County prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges against Wynn, accusing him of killing Wykel during a robbery. Wykel disappeared Feb. 20, 1996. Key to solving the mystery, prosecutors say, was Wykel's constant companion -- an aged diamond ring.
"The detectives went back and looked at it and put together the circumstantial evidence to connect Wynn to Wykel," said Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff to Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.
In court documents, detectives with the King County Sheriff's Office cold-case squad describe Wykel as a man who was enjoying his retirement after a career as a metal worker. A man with "no known illnesses or vices," Wykel supplemented his income by restoring classic cars.
It was in that business, police say, that Wykel met Wynn, offering a Ford Thunderbird for sale. Wynn was initially identified as the last person to see Wykel alive. Several witnesses told investigators they'd seen Wykel and Wynn at a Thurston County resort Wynn's family owned shortly before Wykel disappeared.
Detectives contacted Wynn several times, but Wynn left the state for Texas before a case could be made against him. During the investigation, Wynn called Wykel's daughter, saying he believed her father was on vacation and offered tips on how she might find him.
The case went cold in 1997, after the detective investigating Wykel's disappearance retired. Wykel's body was never found.
Detectives Jon Holland and Sue Peters reopened the investigation three years later.
According to court documents, several women connected to Wynn told detectives of a large diamond Wynn had come to have shortly after Wykel's disappearance. One of the woman eventually passed the diamond on to detectives, claiming she'd paid Wynn $2,000 for the stone.
The 1.3-carat diamond matched one held in a ring that Wykel "never took off," his family told investigators.
With the diamond in evidence, detectives confronted Wynn in 2004. According to court documents, Wynn continued to deny having any role in Wykel's disappearance but later disappeared himself after refusing to take a lie-detector test.
Goodhew said King County detectives planned to arrest Wynn after charges were quietly filed Monday.
But Wynn, who has used several aliases in the past, had fled the Texas home where he was thought to be staying and was not apprehended until Wednesday.
Wynn is being held in Texas pending extradition to Washington. Prosecutors have requested he be held on $1 million bail pending trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398831_coldcase05.html
Man charged in 1996 slaying
By LEVI PULKKINEN (levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com)
P-I REPORTER
If prosecutors are correct, diamonds are no friends to Myron Wynn.
Then again, if prosecutors are correct, Myron Wynn was no friend to Bob Wykel, a 66-year-old man who disappeared from a Burien parking lot more than a decade ago.
Earlier this week, King County prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges against Wynn, accusing him of killing Wykel during a robbery. Wykel disappeared Feb. 20, 1996. Key to solving the mystery, prosecutors say, was Wykel's constant companion -- an aged diamond ring.
"The detectives went back and looked at it and put together the circumstantial evidence to connect Wynn to Wykel," said Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff to Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.
In court documents, detectives with the King County Sheriff's Office cold-case squad describe Wykel as a man who was enjoying his retirement after a career as a metal worker. A man with "no known illnesses or vices," Wykel supplemented his income by restoring classic cars.
It was in that business, police say, that Wykel met Wynn, offering a Ford Thunderbird for sale. Wynn was initially identified as the last person to see Wykel alive. Several witnesses told investigators they'd seen Wykel and Wynn at a Thurston County resort Wynn's family owned shortly before Wykel disappeared.
Detectives contacted Wynn several times, but Wynn left the state for Texas before a case could be made against him. During the investigation, Wynn called Wykel's daughter, saying he believed her father was on vacation and offered tips on how she might find him.
The case went cold in 1997, after the detective investigating Wykel's disappearance retired. Wykel's body was never found.
Detectives Jon Holland and Sue Peters reopened the investigation three years later.
According to court documents, several women connected to Wynn told detectives of a large diamond Wynn had come to have shortly after Wykel's disappearance. One of the woman eventually passed the diamond on to detectives, claiming she'd paid Wynn $2,000 for the stone.
The 1.3-carat diamond matched one held in a ring that Wykel "never took off," his family told investigators.
With the diamond in evidence, detectives confronted Wynn in 2004. According to court documents, Wynn continued to deny having any role in Wykel's disappearance but later disappeared himself after refusing to take a lie-detector test.
Goodhew said King County detectives planned to arrest Wynn after charges were quietly filed Monday.
But Wynn, who has used several aliases in the past, had fled the Texas home where he was thought to be staying and was not apprehended until Wednesday.
Wynn is being held in Texas pending extradition to Washington. Prosecutors have requested he be held on $1 million bail pending trial.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/398831_coldcase05.html