Everett Murder Suspect Arrested In Whatcom County

EVERETT, WA - Police this week arrested Samuel David Axlund of Bellingham in connection with the May 2018 assault of a 62-year-old Everett resident, who later died from his injuries.

Following up on tips from the community, which were inspired by surveillance images of Axlund that were shared by law enforcement, Marysville officers positively identified Axlund as the prime suspect in the murder of Jay Agostinelli.

Agostinelli was reportedly attacked just after midnight May 24 in the 1200-block of Broadway Avenue. According to charging documents from Snohomish County, Agostinelli was observed standing at a bus stop on the east side of Broadway, just north of the corner of Broadway and 13th Street in Everett.

At least three witnesses told police they saw Agostinelli talking and shouting to no-one in particular prior to the assault. One of the witnesses also described seeing one man walk toward Agostinelli and suddenly attack him.

The attacker, later identified as Axlund, reportedly knocked Agostinelli down and beat on him for 30 seconds or more. After he was done, Axlund walked quickly away from the scene and around the corner, leaving Agostinelli lying there with multiple gashes to his head that were bleeding profusely.

Another witness told officers they saw Axlund run into a nearby mobile home park after the attack.

When police arrived at the bus stop Agostinelli was unconscious, lying in a pool of his own blood. He was taken to hospital but never regained consciousness and died June 3, 2018.

Prior to learning Axlund's identity an autopsy was performed on Agostinelli. The Medical Examiner determined Agostinelli died from "bronchopneumonia due to multiple blunt force injuries of the head" caused by a circular flat surface, like a hammer face, court documents state.

Using surveillance images captured by a variety of security systems from businesses around the intersection, detectives were able to produce a clear image of Axlund as the suspect. After disseminating the images to other law enforcement agencies in the area, Everett police learned Axlund was the suspect.

Investigating detectives then learned Axlund was being held in Whatcom County Jail for robbery and assaulting a police officer on May 26 — just two days after allegedly attacking Agostinelli.

Detectives traveled to Whatcom County to interview Axlund on June 19. Axlund agreed to speak with detectives and admitted to being in the area on May 24 and seeing the attack, stating he saw someone attack Agostinelli with a small stick or club-like object, hitting him multiple times in the head.

Axlund told detectives the attack he witnessed was horrifying, "Like I've never seen anything like that in my life," he said, adding, "I thought that dude killed somebody."

As detectives pressed Axlund's testimony he began giving convoluted answers, some contradicting previous statements, before finally requesting an attorney.

Detectives following up on autopsy evidence and witness testimony, including Axlund's, on July 3 returned to the mobile home park where Axlund was last spotted. Starting at the first trailer Axlund would have ran past on the night of the assault, detectives checked the roof and located a hammer.

Detectives who were also monitoring Axlund's jail phone calls then caught a break on Aug. 2 when Axlund called a woman to discuss his status as a murder suspect. The woman reportedly discussed with Axlund previous statements he'd made about the attack, including seeing "a hammer in a tree" as he fled the scene.

Because detectives never shared details about the murder weapon, and because they knew the only people who would have been aware of the hammer were the witnesses and the attacker, they felt they had enough information to move forward with a case against Axlund.

Detectives then requested Axlund be transferred to Snohomish County immediately following his release from Whatcom County.

On July 12, Axlund was convicted of third-degree assault in Whatcom County and sentenced to eight months in jail. He is now being held in Snohomish County Jail, where he faces one count of second-degree murder.

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