Arrest in Bothell murder followed confession to friend
Jun 28, 2013, 1:41 PM | Updated: 2:51 pm
Court papers reveal that a recent confession to a friend might have been the evidence police needed to finally arrest a Bothell, Wash. man for the murder of his estranged wife back in February.
Documents filed in connection with the arrest of Alan Smith, 37, detail the evidence that police have been collecting and analyzing for more than four months. The evidence includes blood, footprints, semen, hairs, possible weapons and protective clothing. Police also interviewed Smith multiple times about the murder of his wife Susann in the home they used to share.
But it was a statement from a church friend this week that provided the evidence that might have convinced detectives to arrest Smith. In a document prepared by Bothell police and filed in court, the friend says Smith tearfully confessed to him that he was responsible for his wife’s murder, telling the friend: “Yes, I did it to her.” That friend contacted Bothell police this week.
Police investigators say they believe Smith was attacked in the bedroom and then dragged to a bathroom where she was found face down in a bathtub full of water. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner says Susann Smith suffered multiple blunt force and cutting blows. She also had water in her lungs, indicating drowning.
Alan and Susann Smith were involved in a custody battle and police say Alan Smith had complained bitterly to family, co-workers, and friends about his wife.
The document filed by Everett police states that Smith once asked a former girlfriend how he could “get rid of her so nobody would know.”
Neighbors say Smith moved back into the home where Susann Smith was killed. Police were called to the home several times and recently, officers responding to a complaint found Smith having sex with his girlfriend in the yard.
Smith was arrested a few days later for failing to hand over his passport. Then, on Thursday morning, detectives arrested Smith for murder. Smith appeared in Everett District Court Fri. where bail was set at $1 million.
