She discovered her best friend and her family murdered inside their Carnation home. Tuesday, Linda Thiele took the stand in Michele Anderson's murder trial.
Thiele worked at the Carnation post office with Judy Anderson. When Judy didn't show up for work on Dec. 26, 2007, Thiele went to her house.
The gate was locked so Thiele walked around it and went up to the front door. She knocked but no one answered. She opened the door and saw Scott Anderson on the floor. At first she thought it could be carbon monoxide poisoning. She was getting ready to pull him outside when she saw he'd been shot in the head. Then she saw even more victims.
Thiele told the jury she didn't have her cellphone with her so she hid in a back bedroom and called 911 on the house phone.
She told the 911 operator there was a murder. "Oh God, I'm in the other room. There's a baby and a man and a woman, and she's my best friend." Thiele worried the killer could still be on the property. "The gate is locked, which makes me wonder if her daughter did it, which is scary, 'cause then I might be up here with a murderer."
Thiele stayed on the phone more than 30 minutes. She told the operator she knew Michele Anderson was upset with her parents about asking her to start paying rent for the mobile home she lived in on her parents' property. She expected they would find even more victims on the property because she didn't think Judy would have left her grandchildren behind.
The bodies of Wayne and Judy Anderson were discovered outside. Olivia, 5, was also in the living room with her parents and brother, but she was hidden behind her mom.
The call was upsetting for Thiele to hear. She cried as it played. Pam Mantle wiped away tears, too. Her daughter and grandchildren were murdered.
Accused killer Michele Anderson held her head in her hands.
Pam Mantle also testified Tuesday. She was worried on Dec. 26, 2007, because she hadn't been able to get hold of her daughter. She ended up driving to her son-in-law's workplace. He wasn't there. Then her husband called and told her to come home; deputies were at their home.
On the stand, Mantle told the jury about the victims. Her granddaughter Olivia was supposed to come over for a sleepover on Dec. 27.
Prosecutors also played the 911 hang-up called made by her daughter, Erica Anderson. Erica had been shot but she was able to climb over the couch to get to the phone.
Before she could talk, detectives say, Joe McEnroe hung up the phone. Prosecutors played the 911 call -- there is screaming in the background.
Pam Mantle told the jury that was her daughter's voice screaming, "Not the kids, no!"
Michele Anderson is charged with six counts of aggravated first-degree murder for killing her family on Christmas Eve. If she's convicted, she will be sentenced to life in prison.
Her boyfriend, McEnroe, was convicted last spring. He's serving a life sentence.
On Wednesday, first responders are expected to testify.
Related:
- VIDEO: Jury decides life or death for Carnation killer Joe McEnroe >> kiro.tv/PenaltyVerdict
- McEnroe: 'If you want to kill me, go ahead >> kiro.tv/GoAhead
- PHOTOS: Anderson family photos, victims >> kiro.tv/AndersonFamilyPhotos
- PHOTOS: Carnation murder investigation images >> kiro.tv/CarnationRecreation
Want to talk about the news of the day? Join us here on Facebook.
Cox Media Group
