A Washington state man was arrested after police found the body of his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, who allegedly sold her into a sex trafficking ring in Seattle.
According to KREM 2 News in Spokane, police responded to a dispatch on Oct. 22, regarding an abandoned vehicle with a foul odor emanating from it. The outlet reported that a witness called 911 after discovering the abandoned car, a 1991 Honda Accord, near his home. He inspected the vehicle and opened the trunk of the car, when he found a decomposing body and smelled a foul odor.
Police arrived on the scene and confirmed that they were indeed human remains. The victim was identified as a 19-year old male, and the suspect, a 60-year old man, was arrested on October 29.
According to Spokane police, the suspect learned in October of 2020 that his juvenile daughter had allegedly been sold into a sex-trafficking ring in the Seattle area. Police said he acquired information that indicated his daughter’s then-boyfriend, the victim, may have been the one responsible for the sale.
The father said in court documents obtained by KREM 2 that she had been sold for $1000. He and his fiancé then drove to Seattle, where they rescued the young girl. The couple drove the girl back to Spokane, where she was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center.
The police press release continues:
In November 2020, [the suspect] learned his daughter’s boyfriend was going to be at a location in Airway Heights, WA. [The suspect] waited for the victim and confronted the 19-year-old as he arrived. During that encounter [the suspect] abducted the victim, tying him up and placing him in the trunk of a vehicle. [He] subsequently assaulted the victim by hitting him in the head with a cinder block and then stabbed him repeatedly, causing his death. After the homicide, [the suspect] drove the vehicle to a remote area in North Spokane County and abandoned the car with the body still inside. The vehicle remained at that location until it was moved in October 2021 by a 3rd-party and driven to Spokane. At this point it is not believed the 3rd-party knew the body was in the trunk. The vehicle, with the body still in the trunk, was abandoned at the Everett location.
The statement said that the suspect “was taken into custody by law enforcement without incident.”
The police department in Airway Heights, where the incident allegedly took place, is cooperating with Spokane police and will continue to be involved as the investigation moves forward.
At the time of arrest, the father had no recent criminal history or history of violent crime.