A woman was arrested after a body was found in a White Center apartment

WHITE CENTER, Washington — A woman was arrested Friday night after deputies found a dead body in a small White Center apartment building.

The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) received a 911 call at 7:15 p.m. reporting a possible homicide in the White Center area of ​​unincorporated King County.

When deputies arrived at the apartment building, they found a dead woman in one of the rooms.

The woman was arrested at the scene and booked into the King County Jail at approximately 1:30 a.m.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office provided KOMO with more information in the form of “probable cause documents” Saturday night.

The documents state that the suspect is a 19-year-old woman, and the victim is a 73-year-old woman and the owner of the apartment.

The documents further state that the suspect was a tenant of the building that the victim rented and lived there for a year. The suspect was detained by deputies after they were called to the address by her son-in-law.

Schwager told law enforcement that the suspect contacted her sister and said she had killed someone and showed the victim’s body in a video call, according to the documents.

The suspect initially told someone at the King County Communications Center that “it was a joke and that she was in Everett all the way with a friend,” but later said “I killed her,” referring to the homeowner, “she tried to punch me, and I hit her.”

After the arrest, the suspect told the deputies during the interrogation that “lately she has been delaying the rent.” That evening, the landlord called her into another room and asked when she would be able to pay the rent.

The suspect goes on to state that the victim “struck her in the face during this exchange” and the suspect struck her “hard and stabbed her twice with a knife that was already in the room.”

The suspect describes the fight between the two in the documents, saying the victim “pulled her by the hair and the drawstring of her hoodie during the struggle, and in response grabbed a nearby knife and struck her.”

The detective then asked “what would have happened if she hadn’t hit” the victim?

“Nothing,” the suspect said. The victim “would still be alive and I wouldn’t be here.”

The suspect’s brother-in-law told detectives she had been threatening to kill the landlord since last month “if he asked her about the rent again,” the documents state.

The suspect’s sister and brother-in-law used to live in the same apartment, but moved out last month. However, it is claimed that the landlord will call them to complain that the suspect is not paying the rent. The sister and brother-in-law did not take the threats seriously, according to the documents.

The suspect has been charged with second-degree murder and is currently being held in the King County Jail on $2 million bond.

No prior cases against the suspect have been forwarded to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, officials said.