The suspect and an accomplice had made thousands of dollars in purchases using the victim's accounts and claimed he was allowing them to stay in his home.pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, identity theft and criminal impersonation, among other charges, after being extradited back to Washington state from California.
Just over a month later, Engeland's roommate reported him missing, and said that suspicious text messages claiming Engeland would be unable to respond for three to six weeks were sent from his phone at around 3 a.m. The text also said a woman named"christina" would be renting out the downstairs of Engeland's home.
Mercer Island police eventually located Engeland's car in a QFC parking lot, where Brewer and Hardy said they parked it after using it supposedly with the victim's permission. The trunk contained a cardboard box with a large amount of blood and a white towel, which also appeared to be partially soaked in blood. Fingerprints found on a soda can in Engeland's vehicle belonged to Brewer, per court documents.