Joseph McEnroe describes grisly murder of six in taped confession

It was a chilling confession recorded on cassette tape in the patrol car of a King County detective. On Thursday, a jury heard the voice of Joseph McEnroe describe in his own words how he murdered six people in Carnation on Christmas Eve seven years ago.

Earlier this week, some close relatives of the Anderson family were too overcome with emotion to be in court to view graphic photos and hear detailed forensic testimony by King County’s chief medical examiner Dr. Richard Harruff.

Images of the crime scene showed Erica Mantle Anderson’s blood streaked face. Her body shielded her 5-year-old daughter, Olivia. The child was wearing Christmas pajamas and boots. Her little brother, 3-year-old Nathan, lay nearby.

After being shot twice, prosecutors said Erica was still able to crawl to a phone to dial 911. Charging documents indicate she begged for her children’s lives before they were murdered.

Prosecutors say it was the day after Christmas 2007 when Joseph McEnroe and his girlfriend Michele Anderson returned to the scene of the grisly crime on her parents’ wooded property in Carnation. The two accused killers lived rent-free in a nearby mobile home.

They soon faced questions from police.

In the taped interview with Detective Jake Pavlovich, McEnroe called Anderson’s parents, Judy and Wayne, “mom and dad,” explaining he never knew his own father and his mother was a negative presence who ruined his credit.

He first claimed the family was having a joyous holiday. The couple had just told Judy and Wayne about their intention to marry. Anderson and McEnroe wanted to skip town to elope in Las Vegas. McEnroe planned to change his name to “Joe Anderson” by New Year’s.

After an hour of conversation with Pavlovich, the story changed. The detective said it appeared something was bothering McEnroe.

“I can tell by looking at you, Joe, that you feel bad about some things. Believe it or not … sometimes when you talk about things, you feel a little bit better about ’em.”

The detective also told McEnroe that Anderson had started talking to his partner about the crimes.

“Michele’s being very open and honest with us. She encouraged you to do the same; so do I.”

Soon the gruesome story came out. McEnroe recalled how Anderson’s 9 millimeter gun jammed when she tried to shoot her father, Wayne, after an argument. So he stepped in with a .357.

“I, I, I couldn’t, I couldn’t let them hurt her. I couldn’t,” McEnroe said. “She’s all I have.”

McEnroe admitted, “I shot mom.”

After the couple killed Anderson’s parents, McEnroe described how they dragged the bodies out to a shed and furiously cleaned up blood.

Anderson’s brother, Scott, his wife, and their two young kids were on their way for a Christmas Eve celebration.

When the rest of the family arrived, Anderson argued with her brother about $3,000 she said he owed her.

“She shot him,” according to McEnroe. “She shot him and he charged her. And he was trying to rip the gun out of her hands.”

He couldn’t recollect who killed Anderson’s brother, but it fell to McEnroe to finish off Erica and the kids with the 9 millimeter. There could be no witnesses left to “turn us in.”

As Erica Mantle Anderson huddled with her children on a flowered sofa, McEnroe claimed he told her he was sorry. He thought Nathan “looked like he understood … Like he didn’t hate us for it.”

McEnroe also wanted Pavlovich to know, “There’s not a second that has passed that we, she and I, have not regretted just simply going back out and just leaving.”

McEnroe’s defense team claims he was under the spell of his manipulative girlfriend when he helped ambush and kill the Anderson family.

He faces the death penalty if convicted. Anderson’s trial will begin after McEnroe’s concludes.