Seattle Times staff reporter
The improbable linking of an unsolved Auburn burglary, unidentified DNA from two crime scenes, and the work of cops and prosecutors in two counties led to the arrest Friday of the man authorities say is responsible for the attack that left one woman dead and her partner wounded in South Park last Sunday.
Sources close to the investigation said that the Washington State Patrol crime lab matched DNA evidence from the South Park crime scene to evidence found at a 2008 Auburn crime scene. While both departments had DNA from the same man, and that DNA was on file with the state, no one knew whose it was.
But Auburn police had the most crucial piece of evidence — video surveillance of their suspect.
Seattle police investigators quickly noted that the man in the Auburn video, taken during an attempted break-in at Auburn City Hall on March 27, 2008, appeared to be the man in their police sketch.
And when King County prosecutors and Pierce County sheriff's detectives saw the footage on the news, they quickly produced a name — Isaiah Kalebu.
On Saturday, King County District Court Judge pro tem Karli Jorgensen ordered Kalebu held on $10 million bail for investigation of first-degree murder, attempted-first degree murder, two counts of rape and one count of burglary in those attacks.
Kalebu is accused of crawling through the open window of a South Park home and brutally attacking Teresa Butz, 39, and her partner, a 36-year-old woman. Butz died after being stabbed multiple times. Her partner, who survived, was released from the hospital Monday.
King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole, who requested the high bail amount, said his office may seek the death penalty for the South Park attacks.
Trail started in Auburn
Auburn police had the first DNA sample from Kalebu, collected when he allegedly tried to break into City Hall in March of 2008.
A video captured someone believed to be Kalebu walking into the building.
Kalebu, according to sources close to the investigation, is believed to have found his way into the basement and cut his hand opening a box of keys that would help him gain access to the elevator and offices, authorities said.
A sample of that blood was entered in the state database. But until Friday, no name was matched with it.
Those sources said nothing was stolen from the Auburn City Hall building. It's unclear why Kalebu was trying to get inside.
When it was discovered that Auburn's DNA sample matched that from the South Park scene, Seattle police released the Auburn surveillance video to the media in order to identify the man, sources say.
Pierce County link
The Pierce County connection stems from the arson that killed Kalebu's aunt and a tenant in her University Place home earlier this month. Rachel Kalebu, 62, and 57-year-old John Jones were found dead after an early-morning fire at their house in the 5500 block of 64th Avenue West in University Place.
Kalebu had been living in the house until the day before the fire, when his aunt asked him to leave and filed for a domestic-violence protection order.
Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said that Kalebu is a suspect in the fire investigation, but he has not been charged.
Troyer said that when he saw the Auburn surveillance video on the news, he immediately recognized the person as Kalebu.
Rachel Kalebu, in her protection order, said that her nephew had "threatened to harm me many times" and had struck her, according to court records. She said he "commands me and orders me around as if I am his junior ... would like to have peace in my house."
Kalebu moved into his aunt's house after his mother, Denise Kalebu, refused to let him live at her Burien home. In March 2008, Denise Kalebu contacted the King County Sheriff's Office to report that her son had threatened to kill her.
Kalebu was charged with domestic-violence felony harassment and domestic-violence malicious mischief in April 2008 for the alleged threats against his mother.
Denise Kalebu told investigators that she told her son to move out on March 29, 2008, because he wasn't taking medication prescribed the day before to control his bipolar disorder.
According to court charging documents, a doctor at Harborview Medical Center prescribed the medication after Seattle police officers brought Kalebu to the trauma center for involuntary mental commitment.
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."
When Kalebu left the house, he flashed a 6-inch knife at his mother, court documents said.
Released to aunt
Deputies said they looked for Kalebu, but he wasn't arrested until the following day, when he showed up at his sister's White Center home and threw a rock through a window.
Kalebu was arrested and sent to Western State Hospital for a mental evaluation. After treatment, he was found competent to stand trial, according to court documents. He was soon released to his aunt's care.
As Kalebu's trial date neared, his mother told King County prosecutors that she would not testify against him, according to court testimony. Prosecutors then offered Kalebu a chance in April to plead guilty to reduced charges of two counts of misdemeanor harassment and malicious mischief, court documents said.
In May, Kalebu withdrew from the plea deal because he didn't want to submit the required DNA sample. But, apparently unknown to Kalebu, his DNA was already on file with the state.
During the bail hearing Saturday, O'Toole said the DNA found in South Park and other evidence linked Kalebu to the horrific rape and murder scene.
Attorney Phillip Tavel was assigned last week to take over as Kalebu's third defense attorney in the case involving his mother. Tavel is also representing Kalebu against the South Park charges.
Tavel said that in the handful of times he's talked with Kalebu he's been struck by how polite his client is.
Tavel said that when he spoke with Kalebu after his arrest on Friday, the man was calm and "his mental state is very clear."
Seattle Times staff reporter Phillip Lucas contributed to this report.
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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