Three murder victims in Concrete house fire identified
Aug 18, 2024, 9:40 AM | Updated: 4:39 pm
Authorities have identified three people who were shot, after their bodies were found inside a house destroyed by fire in Concrete last week.
Police continue their search for a person of interest they have also identified.
The Mount Vernon Police Department is leading the investigation.
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It has identified the victims as 52-year-old Erin Birman, her 19-year-old son Taylor Dawson, and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Jillian Whitney Van Boven.
The Skagit County Coroner’s Office determined gunshot wounds contributed to their deaths.
Police say the person of interest, 49-year-old Jason M. Birman, who is Erin Birman’s husband, lived at the home.
Investigators believe he was there before the fire broke out on August 9th.
Authorities released the victims’ identities after a several-day-long search through the rubble of the burned-out building.
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Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Skagit County Fire Marshal, the Snohomish County Fire Marshal and the Sedro-Woolley Fire Departments assisted with the excavation.
Birman, the person of interest, is known to be an avid four-wheeler, but he and his vehicle haven’t been seen since the fire.
He drives a blue 1994 Chevy pickup, with a Washington license plate of C67636L.
A judge has issued a warrant for Birman’s arrest, for the crime of Murder in the Second Degree.
Investigators are asking for the public’s help finding him.
They say he’s been known to frequent areas of Skagit and Whatcom Counties and often has more facial hair and is thinner than what is shown in the photo they recently released.
The fire at the home on SR 530 destroyed the structure and did extensive damage to surrounding buildings and vehicles.
That made the recovery of the victims’ bodies more difficult.
The house sits on nearly five acres of heavily wooded land.
Authorities did a complete search of that area, with help from the Skagit County Search and Rescue and the U. S. Customs and Border Patrol’s Aviation Branch.
Tom Brock is a weekend editor, reporter and anchor for KIRO Newsradio.
