Opinion ID: 1296847
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Count 2 Carol Beethe

Text: Carol Beethe was employed as a bartender at Cucina Cucina, a restaurant in Bellevue. She lived in a condominium with her two children. Beethe's ex-husband, Paul, lived nearby. On August 8, 1990, Beethe spoke with Paul at around 9:30 p.m. At 10:30 p.m. she spoke with her boyfriend, Mike Suell, with whom she was planning to go on a vacation. At midnight she met another friend at the restaurant where he was the bartender. Beethe left at approximately 2:15 a.m. At 4:30 a.m. Beethe's daughter Kelly heard someone in the hall of the family's condominium, and then saw the person shine a flashlight in the bathroom, her sister's bedroom, and her own bedroom. Kelly assumed that the person was Mike Suell. When Kelly awoke at 8:30 a.m., her mother was not up as she usually was, her bedroom door was locked, and Kelly could not wake her. When Kelly went outside to open the sliding glass door to her mother's room, she saw her mother and became scared. She called her father who came over and entered the room through a sliding glass door. Beethe was on her back on the bed. The bedspread was pulled down to the foot of the bed. Her body was unclothed except for a pair of red high-heeled shoes. Her feet were together with legs spread and knees bent. Blood had been smeared on her legs in a manner that resembled finger painting. Verbatim Report on Appeal, at 3290. A rifle had been placed resting symmetrically between Beethe's legs, resting on her shoes. The firearm penetrated approximately five or six inches into her vagina. Her left arm was bent upward at the elbow, while her right arm was bent down at the elbow, nearly touching her hip. Beethe's head was wrapped in a plastic bag and covered with a large pillow. The medical examiner ascertained that Beethe's death had been caused by head injuries. The head injuries were inflicted by an instrument swung with considerable force in rapid succession. The blows left distinct Y shaped marks and crushed the entire left side of Beethe's skull. Beethe had also been struck many times with a knee or fist in the torso. Her ribs were broken and her liver was lacerated. Testimony suggested that Beethe and Russell were acquaintances. One witness testified that both Russell and Beethe frequented the Overlake Denny's. A waitress at the Black Angus testified that on two occasions she was talking to Beethe about a situation ... between George [Russell] and I and saw Russell glaring at them. Verbatim Report on Appeal, at 4898-99. (This occurred before Russell was banned from the Black Angus.) After the murders, Russell told friends that he knew the victim of the second murder and that she was a bartender at the Cucina Cucina restaurant in Bellevue. When Beethe's body was found, she had rings on her right hand but not on her left hand. At the time of her death, Beethe owned two wedding ring sets, one from her mother and one from her previous marriage. The rings were kept in a jewelry box in Beethe's bedroom, but they were never located after her death. During their investigation, the police published photographs of the rings in a Bellevue newspaper. At trial, one of the State's witnesses testified that Russell had tried to sell him rings that resembled the missing set. Beethe's family also informed the police that she had a half dozen small Crown Royal bags in the top drawer of her dresser containing silver dollars and other change from tips. When police allowed Paul to reenter his ex-wife's house he noticed the Crown Royal bags were missing. About three weeks after Beethe's murder, Russell and a friend drove to a wooded area on Mercer Island. Russell informed his friend that he had to pick up some money owed him. Russell stepped out of the car and returned with a paper bag full of silver dollars and change. Forensic evidence did not reveal any of Russell's fingerprints in Beethe's residence. A fabric glove impression left on the sheet of her bed suggested that the murderer wore gloves. Negroid hairs were discovered on Beethe's sheet, pillow and underwear, but the fragments were not suitable for comparison.