Suspects defrauded senior citizen through dating app, poisoned him with fentanyl in Mercer Island murder: Docs
2 arrested for murder of Mercer Island man
Investigators believed the pair used a dating app to get the victim's trust, before drugging him and then murdering him. Documents say they stole his money and tried to move into the home.
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - Philip J Brewer, 32, and 47-year-old Christina Hardy are facing charges for concocting a scheme to defraud and murder a Mercer Island senior citizen under the guise of romance.
Investigators said that Brewer used the dating app, Scruff, to gain the trust of 74-year-old Curtis Engeland.
According to probable cause documents FOX 13 News obtained, Engeland knew something was wrong immediately when he woke up in his home following his first meeting with Brewer.
The documents say the two talked for about a week before their first date. According to court documents, Engeland invited Brewer over for a movie, but fell asleep.
When Engeland woke up, Brewer was gone, so was Engeland’s wallet, cell phone, house keys, car keys, driver's license and social security card. This incident happened in January.
A little more than a month later, Engeland would be found dead.
The documents say Brewer and Hardy admitted to another person that they injected Engeland with fentanyl to kill him. They then drove out to Cosmopolis in Grays Harbor County to hide his body. However, at the dumpsite, the suspects realized Engeland was still alive, so they stabbed him in the neck.
The Medical Examiner's officer determined that he died from "sharp force injury of the neck."
A silver alert was originally issued for Engeland.
According to probable cause documents, Brewer and Hardy, as well as Hardy’s son, tried to move into Engeland’s home. They lied to police saying that Engeland was letting them stay at his home. Documents say the suspects also used the victim's phone to create alibis.
According to police, they stole thousands of dollars from Engeland’s accounts, bought a car with his money, and pawned off his cell phone.
Probable cause documents show there is a lot of evidence against the suspects. Police were able to use GPS monitoring on cell phones to track Hardy and Brewer from Mercer Island to Cosmopolis where Engeland’s body was found.
Surveillance cameras at several businesses also captured video of the suspects during the drive.
Investigators also say there is a digital paper trail showing the fraud and theft, including one of the suspects dumping the stolen money into their own personal PayPal account.
Prosecutors asked in charging documents that both suspects be held on $5 million bail. They remain in custody in California pending extradition proceedings, so that the cases can move forward in Washington state.
The arraignment dates in King County will be set once the extradition proceedings move forward.
Brewer is accused of stealing Engeland's property and defrauding him around Jan. 13. Police began investigating the case around that time.
The murder happened on or around Feb. 23 or 24, more than a month after the investigation in the fraud case began. His body was found on March 11 in Cosmopolis,
FOX 13 News asked Mercer Island Police why an arrest was not made sooner. They told us the investigation was still ongoing at the time of the murder.
74-year-old, Curtis Engeland (Washington State Patrol)