PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Two teens, Gabriel Davies and Justin Yoon, who are accused of killing a 51-year-old Orting man, were supposed to be starting their junior year of high school but instead, are behind bars after pleading not guilty to first-degree and second-degree murder charges.
While the teens aren’t speaking to law enforcement, their fathers have and investigators said their stories don’t add up.
On Friday, a Pierce County Sheriff’s Department sergeant described the murder as an ambush.
The 16-year-olds are awaiting trial on $1 million bond after detectives said they shot and stabbed repeatedly Daniel McCaw in his home.
Other Olympia High School students told KIRO 7 that they were still in shock after finding out that two of their own were accused of murder.
“No one really knew what happened. It’s a big mystery. Everyone was posting about it and then we find out that people were saying that’s what he did,” student Andreas Enghold said.
He compared the chain of events to a movie.
RECAP
Last week, before the arrest, Davies was missing and that prompted an extensive search in Thurston County for the teen.
A day after, McCaw’s body was found and hours later, Davies was found safe in the woods.
Shortly after Davies’ safe return, investigators put things together, which led to Davies and Yoon’s arrests.
“They were both booked into the Raymond Hall detention facility for charges of murder in the second degree, burglary in the first-degree and unlawful possession of a firearm,” said Sergeant Darren Moss.
Moss said Davies knew the victim, who was his mom’s ex-boyfriend and someone he had lived with at times.
Court documents mention a biker gang that had threatened Davies before the murder.
Moss said he did not know about the bikers but the teen’s involvement was clear.
“There’s basically a confession through the father saying that both boys were admitting they were there,” Moss said.
Surveillance video showed the boys entering the victim’s home with pepper spray and wearing gloves. Moss said they were the only people who entered and left the home, for days.
“From the violence of this crime, the victim was stabbed multiple times as well. Maybe it was an ambush of some sort,” Moss said.
Because of the brutality of the crime, it is one of the reasons the teens are being charged as adults. KIRO 7′s Gwen Baumgardner spoke with Davies’ attorney on Friday and he told her that because of the complexities of the case, it is unlikely the teens will return to court on Oct. 6 as scheduled. He expects the date to be pushed back.