John Anderson was angry and struck without warning the day he allegedly kidnapped and killed his ex-girlfriend, a Snohomish County jury was told Friday.
Tony Williams, 21, testified that Anderson appeared enraged when he walked into the living room at an Everett duplex in September 2002 and found Rachel Burkheimer talking and laughing with members of the gang he helped lead.
Burkheimer got up to leave after Anderson started throwing punches at the other men. That’s when Anderson grabbed Burkheimer by the hair, pulled her to the ground and hit her in the face, Williams testified.
Snohomish County prosecutors say Anderson bound and tormented Burkheimer for hours before he ordered her driven to the Cascade Mountain foothills. Once there, he allegedly ordered Burkheimer to strip and then repeatedly shot her as she knelt in a hastily dug grave.
Anderson went on trial Thursday, charged with aggravated murder and conspiracy. Prosecutors contend the killing was motivated by a mix of Anderson’s jealousy over Burkheimer and paranoia that the woman somehow posed a threat to Anderson and other members of an Everett-based gang who called themselves the Northwest Mafia.
Friday’s testimony focused largely on how the gang worked and what happened on Sept. 23, 2002, the day Burkheimer was abducted and killed.
Although he thought the Northwest Mafia name was stupid, Williams said he was an active participant in its crimes, which included robbing drug dealers and selling their supplies.
On Friday, he acknowledged participating in Burkheimer’s kidnapping, including turning up the stereo to cover the sound of her screams and getting the duct tape that was used to restrain her.
Williams said he then spent hours playing video games, using drugs and tending the marijuana plants he was growing in the garage where Burkheimer was being held.
The Everett man acknowledged he did nothing to help Burkheimer, 18, of Marysville.
"Why not?" deputy prosecutor Michael Downes asked.
"I don’t know," Williams said. He offered no other explanation.
Williams said that the day before Burkheimer was attacked, he heard Anderson and gang members Yusef "Kevin" Jihad, 34, and John Alan Whitaker, 22, talking about how she had supposedly set them up for a confrontation with a rival crime group.
Williams said he was in the living room at Jihad’s home playing video games and smoking marijuana when Burkheimer showed up. People were laughing and talking when Anderson stormed in from the backyard, Williams said.
"It looked like he was mad," said Williams, adding that Anderson punched the two men who had been sitting on the love seat on either side of Burkheimer — Whitaker and Jeffrey Scott Barth, 22.
Barth responded by reaching for the gun in his waistband, while Anderson went for his own pistol, Williams said.
When Burkheimer got up and started for the door, Anderson went after her.
"Anderson grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back in," Williams said. Then he hit her in the face and shoved her to the floor. Whitaker walked over and kicked her, he added.
It wasn’t long before Burkheimer was tied up in the garage. The captivity ended hours later in her death.
Williams wasn’t present for Burkheimer’s shooting. He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and agreed to testify under an agreement with prosecutors that could get him out of prison in less than 10 years.
Anderson’s attorney, public defender Susan Gaer, has told jurors that Williams has every reason to lie, and has done so frequently. In opening statements, she pointed out that he has given police 11 differing statements about what happened.
On Friday, she began confronting Williams with each of the inconsistencies, a laborious process that involved Williams’ statements from multiple transcripts, some dating back a year or more.
Williams sometimes admitted that he had lied to police. More often, he said he simply couldn’t remember what he had said or when.
His explanation was simple: He’d been smoking a lot of marijuana before his arrest and it affected his memory.
Reporter Scott North: 425-339-3431 or north@heraldnet.com.
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