MARYSVILLE — A Marysville man who was found stabbed to death Jan. 25 was clutching a plastic bag and lying just inside the door of his ransacked trailer home, according to court papers.
Arthur W. Schroeder Jr., 82, died from multiple stab wounds, the Snohomish County Medical Examiner determined.
Dried blood at the scene indicated that Schroeder had been dead for some time before police arrived, a search warrant affidavit prepared by Marysville police detective Cori Schackleton said.
“The house appeared ransacked,” the detective wrote. “There was overturned furniture, open cupboards and items strewn about.”
Police learned of Schroeder’s death from his family. His grandson told police he was visiting a friend at the Brookside Mobile RV Park in the 9800 block of State Avenue and decided to visit Schroeder. He told police he last saw the man about a week before.
The grandson told detectives he noticed Schroeder’s 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup was not in the driveway and the light was on inside the travel trailer, the search warrant said.
The grandson opened the door and found Schroeder. Instead of immediately calling police, however, he went back to his friend’s home and together they walked to the grandson’s home where he contacted his mother. She drove him back to the trailer and called 911.
Police suspect that Schroeder’s pickup truck was stolen. It was found burning on vacant land north of Arlington, hours after the body was discovered.
Detectives gathered evidence from the ransacked trailer, including bloody items and prints. They also recovered a metal box full of old coins, a pair of broken eye glasses, an address book, a phone list and court papers.
No arrests have been made.
“It’s still an open investigation,” Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said Friday afternoon. “We have guys working on it full time. We are still trying to gather as much evidence as we can.”
Schroeder was a registered sex offender who spent 18 years in prison, according to state Department of Corrections records. The crimes, involving 20 victims, took place between 1980 and 1983 and included girls ages 8 to 14.
His last conviction came in February 2011 when he pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender.
Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.
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