King County Prosecutors charged Michael Chadd Boysen on Thursday with two counts of Aggravated Murder in the First Degree in the deaths of his grandparents Robert R. and Norma J. Taylor in their unincorporated Renton Home on March 9.
According to a probable cause statement by King County detectives, prosecutors say Boysen, 26, planned to kill the couple in their Fairwood home after he was brought there following his release from the Monroe State Correctional Complex a day earlier.
Boysen, was arrested days later on March 12 in Lincoln City, OR, after a ten-hour standoff with police and is currently being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland. Prosecutors said they expect him to be extradited back to the state by the end of the week, and his arraignment is currently scheduled for April 4 at 9 a.m. at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
King County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe said if convicted, Boysen could face either the death penalty or life in prison without release. The law requires that the county prosecutor to review the case over the next 30 days to determine whether or not to file written notice of a special sentencing proceeding to determine whether or not the death penalty should be imposed, or whether sufficient mitigating circumstances exist to merit leniency.
Prosecutors are also asking a judge to order that he be held without bail in a King County Jail.
The deaths were first reported by their daughter on March 9 after she discovered their half-dressed, pajama-clad bodies inside the closet of the guest bedroom — the same room her son, Boysen, was supposed to spend the night in. Police later found a paper label inside a pair of pajama bottoms with the name "Michael Chadd Boysen" written on it.
After strangling his grandparents with a shoelace, prosecutors say Boysen fled in the Taylor's red 2001 Chrysler 300 and took credit cards, cash and jewelry — including his grandfather's wedding ring. Later that morning, he went shopping with his grandparent's credit cards at Walmart and Fred Meyer just a few miles away from his grandparent's home, purchasing luggage, an Apple iPad computer and several music CDs.
He also pawned the wedding ring at AC Coins in Kent, according to the charging documents.
Detective Christina Bartlett said she spoke with two inmates who knew Boysen at the Monroe Correctional Complex and said he was "angry at and wanting to kill his grandparents." He also told the inmates that he planned to steal the Taylor's Chrysler and cash — a detail which was withheld from the media at that time.
Detectives eventually traced his whereabouts through his use of the stolen credit cards and alert hotel staff in Tukwila and Lincoln City, who contacted police. Among the items discovered in his possession was an array of stolen jewelry, German currency, kerosene and propane bottles, a box of .22 caliber rifle ammunition and a Winchester 67- .22 bolt-action rifle.
If convicted as charged, aggravated murder carries two possible punishments, either the death penalty or life in prison without release.
Previous coverage in Renton Patch:
Update: Family of Slain Fairwood Couple Issues Statement
Update: Elderly Couple Killed in Their Renton Home; Search on for Grandson
Update: Man Wanted in Connection With Elderly Couple's Death Might Be Seeking Weapons
Update: Sheriff Urquhart: Renton Killings are an 'Exceedingly Heinous Crime'
Update: Boysen Captured: Suspect in the Killing of Renton Couple Arrested Without a Fight
