Grandparents of murder suspect loved him ‘more than life’

The mother of the man suspected of killing his grandparents at their home in Renton last week issued a statement Thursday through a spokesperson for the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Melanie Taylor spoke at length with Sgt. Cindi West about her son, 26-year-old Michael “Chadd” Boysen and her late parents, Bob and Norma Taylor. Sgt. West relayed their conversation to the media in a press release and provided an exclusive interview to KIRO Radio.

“The family has asked the media and public to respect their privacy during this difficult time but said there were some things she wanted to say about her son, her parents and the detectives involved in the investigation,” Sgt. West said.

Through Sgt. West, Melanie Taylor painted a poignant picture of the life her family lived before the murders.

Taylor adopted Chadd when he was a baby, and said she “loved him from the minute he was put in my arms.” Because the adoption was closed, the family knew little about the boy’s background.

“But she said it wouldn’t have mattered; she loved him no matter what,” Sgt. West said.

As a young child, Chadd was full of affection. He hugged and kissed his mother as she dropped him off at school and didn’t mind being “embarrassed” like the other kids.

Chadd and his grandparents had a very special bond, his mother told Sgt. West.

“They were like second parents” to Chadd, she said.

When he was young his grandparents picked him up from daycare. He spent the afternoons with Bob and Norma until his mother came to bring him home.

His grandparents loved him “more than life.”

Despite the fact that she lost her hearing before Chadd was adopted, Norma went to all of his school programs.

“Couldn’t hear a thing but she would sit there and she smiled,” Sgt. West said. “It was one of the best things that she loved doing was hanging out with her grandkids.”

According to his mother, Chadd was an exceptional student who fell in with the wrong crowd as a teenager. As he grew up, “his addictive behavior came out,” she said.

He started using drugs and telling lies, “but he never threatened the family and the family never felt threatened by him.”

But when Chadd was 18 years old, his mother found prescription bottles in her house. She turned him in for a series of robberies that landed him behind bars for five years.

“In spite of the fact that she loved him and he was her son, she turned him in,” Sgt. West said. “She said it was very difficult, it’s not like it made her happy, but it was the right thing to do.”

Still, Chadd’s mother and grandparents came to visit him every other week. They sent letters of support and care packages to help him pass the time.

Not long after Chadd was released a back injury reintroduced him to prescription pills. He robbed the home of an elderly couple and was back behind bars within a year.

To show him “tough love,” his mother refused to visit him in prison the second time around. His grandparents, however, continued their visits and picked him up upon his release on March 8.

That night Bob and Norma Taylor threw their grandson a welcome home dinner and fixed up a room in their home where he could stay while he got back on his feet.

“Chadd was upbeat and talked about the wonderful day he had with his grandparents,” Melanie Taylor told Sgt. West. He never showed any signs of aggression that night.

The next day, Taylor found her parents strangled to death at their home.

Several days later, Michael “Chadd” Boysen was arrested at a hotel room in Oregon and awaits extradition to Washington State where he’ll be charged with the murders.

Detectives have yet to release a motive.

Melanie Taylor told Sgt. West that her parents “were warrior spirits fighting for a cause and that cause was Chadd.”

“They still love him and I do too,” she said.