Suspect in murder of Kirkland woman accused of attack on pregnant girlfriend
Jun 25, 2014, 6:40 AM | Updated: 11:25 am
Amy Hargrove, a 28-year-old mother of four, was found strangled to death in the bedroom of her Kirkland home on Jan 6. Police suspect her former boyfriend, 28-year-old Burrell Cushman in the murder, but have so far not made an arrest. KIRO Radio has learned that Cushman was arrested over the week in a separate domestic violence-related incident, during which he is accused of punching his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach. (Photo: Facebook)
(Photo: Facebook)
A man who police suspect strangled his ex-girlfriend to death in Kirkland earlier this year has now been charged with the alleged assault of his pregnant girlfriend.
KIRO Radio has learned that 28-year-old Burrell “BJ” Cushman was arrested and booked into the King County Jail early Saturday morning for investigation of assault with a domestic violence component.
According to an incident report, Cushman was arrested by Seattle police officers at his residence on South Forest Street after his live-in girlfriend reported that he punched her several times in the stomach and repeatedly shoved her against a wall during two separate arguments.
The woman told police she sought medical attention at an emergency room following the blows to her stomach, the report said.
Cushman is suspected in the murder of his former girlfriend, 28-year-old Amy Hargrove, also known as Amy Gang, who was found dead in the bedroom of her Kirkland home on Jan. 6.
While Kirkland police named Cushman as their prime suspect in court documents, he has not been arrested or charged in relation to Hargrove’s murder and the investigation is ongoing.
Hargrove, a mother to four young children, had a restraining order out on Cushman at the time of her death and wrote in court documents that he was frequently violent toward her.
According to the restraining order, Hargrove feared Cushman would kill her.
“If something happens to me, find BJ,” read a note Hargrove left for a friend before her death.
Cushman is the father of Hargrove’s youngest child.
A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said detectives have interviewed and released Cushman several times since Hargrove’s body was discovered by her mother in her home on Northeast 130th Place. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said detectives have reason to believe that Cushman violated the order prohibiting him from contacting Hargrove and their child in the days prior to her death.
Cushman is a convicted felon and has a lengthy criminal history, including drug-related crimes and multiple arrests for domestic violence.
During the most recent incident, Seattle police sent a SWAT team to Cushman’s residence to arrest him based on his violent record and the knowledge that he is a suspect in an ongoing homicide investigation.
Cushman was charged Wednesday with two counts of misdemeanor assault in the case. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
