Jurors in King County Superior Court in Kent got their first look Wednesday at the state’s case against Brandon Gerner, a Maple Valley man accused in a chilling double killing that later spun off into a separate police shootout and the fatal shooting of a horse. Prosecutors told the jury they intend to lay out a trail of evidence they say links Gerner to the two deaths and to a series of violent acts that stunned detectives and the Maple Valley community.
What prosecutors say
Prosecutors allege Gerner teamed up with a friend to confront Robert Riley and Ashley Williams at a commercial property on 238th Avenue SE, then moved the victims’ bodies and left them in brush near 22600 SE 216th Place, according to King County charging documents and local reporting. Autopsy and investigative material detailed in filings show Williams suffered more than 20 sharp-force injuries and both victims had gunshot wounds, as reported by The Seattle Times. Court papers also say a co-defendant helped move the bodies after the killings, and law enforcement relied on location data and witness statements to build the case.
Sacrifice, a shootout and a killed horse
Investigators later connected a December officer-involved shooting south of Tacoma to the homicide probe and say that, in the days after that confrontation, a horse named LeMon was found shot at a stable. KIRO 7 reports witnesses said the killing was described by suspects as a "sacrifice to Odin." Prosecutors charged Gerner with first-degree animal cruelty in connection with the horse’s death.
Defense says Olsen did the killing
On the first day of trial, defense attorney Lisa Mulligan told jurors that the evidence points instead to Kody Olsen, who was wounded in a December shootout with Pierce County deputies and later died, as the person responsible for the homicides. As KOMO News reported, Mulligan said the defense agrees with "a huge amount" of the state’s evidence but argued Gerner did not stab or shoot the victims. Instead, she portrayed Gerner’s role as limited to helping move the bodies after the fact, which she told jurors is not the same as committing murder.
Legal stakes and what’s next
Gerner is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Williams, second-degree murder in the death of Robert Riley, first-degree animal cruelty and unlawful possession of a firearm, per the charging documents filed in King County. Those counts are serious: first- and second-degree murder are class A felonies in Washington and can carry life-long sentences or very long prison terms, according to Washington state sentencing guidance. The case includes at least one co-defendant who pleaded guilty last year to rendering criminal assistance and has already been sentenced, and jurors are expected to continue hearing evidence in Kent as the trial moves forward.
