According to authorities in King County, Washington, two scammers took an old man’s money, murdered him, and briefly moved into his home.
Cops on Mercer Island said they kept their investigation quiet as they sought for missing Curtis Engeland, 74, and gathered evidence against his murders, Philip Brewer, 32, and Christina Joel Hardy, 47.
The offenders were detained on Thursday in Riverside, California, according to records.
“The adult male and adult female suspects are believed to have become acquainted with Mr. Engeland several months ago and subsequently financially defrauded him,” the law enforcement officials noted.
“Police think the suspects later physically accosted Mr. Engeland at his Mercer Island home late on February 23, and used Mr. Engeland’s vehicle to flee that night. His remains was later discovered near Cosmopolis, Washington.
Engeland and Brewer had previously communicated via a dating app, and the victim reported to detectives on Jan. 13 that he awoke from watching a movie to find Brewer and various items — keys, wallet, and cell phone — missing, according to documents acquired by Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO.
Brewer and Hardy allegedly stole $5,000 from the victim’s bank account and $6,200 from his home equity line of credit, according to officials.
During Engeland’s disappearance, the two allegedly went to the victim’s home with Brewer’s son. According to authorities, the defendants told police that the man offered to rent out his basement to them for $500 per month.
The missing man’s siblings informed authorities that they had received recent texts, purportedly from their brother, but they did not believe it was him; as a former English teacher, he “always texted in complete, grammatically correct sentences.”
The siblings objected to Brewer and Hardy staying. Engeland’s family members were unaware that he had left or rented out a portion of his property. The defendants fled, according to authorities.
Police said they discovered Engeland’s body near Cosmopolis, Washington, after focusing on the suspects’ phone cell data.
According to court filings, Engeland suffered blunt force damage to his face, a stab wound in his neck, and “an unquantified amount of fentanyl in his system.”
Authorities added that on Thursday, a guy dating Hardy’s daughter was pulled over for speeding in California, and he claimed to be fleeing Hardy and Brewer after spending a few days with them in the Riverside County community of Blythe.
According to him, the defendants discussed killing Engeland and intended to “kidnap” Hardy’s daughter to care for their children while they were in prison.
Brewer and Hardy allegedly claimed they killed Engeland by injecting him with fentanyl and discussed disposing of the body, but when they reached “the dump site” in Grays Harbor County, he was still alive, and Brewer stabbed him as Hardy held him down.