KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — The man who police said killed his girlfriend and posted photos of her body on the Internet website 4chan has been charged with aggravated first degree murder – a charge that could come with the death penalty.
David Kalac, 33, was arrested in Oregon Wednesday, a day after the killing. He was returned to Kitsap County the following day and ordered held on $2 million bail Friday afternoon.
Kalac was arrested Wednesday night nearly 200 miles from the crime scene after a daylong manhunt.
“I killed Amber Coplin,” Kalac wrote, according to court documents. “I strangled her with my hands, then a shoelace I had. … She pissed me off.”
The bottom of Kalac's confession note says, "running from the cops was so fun." He then signed his initials, "DK."
Court documents include a message where Kalac claimed Coplin was in a relationship with another man, and Kalac was upset about it. He explains his frustration and explains the homicide, saying the victim gave him a black eye.
"I'm at a hotel now," police said he wrote in the Nov. 5 post. "I won't say where."
More than 20 of Coplin's family members were in court for Kalac's first appearance. Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Anna M. Laurie would not allow reporters to show the suspected killer's face in court -- even though his booking photo had already been released by authorities.
Kalac was taken into custody Thursday in Wilsonville, part of Clackamas County, Oregon. The arresting officer said Kalac actually approached him and calmly explained he wanted to surrender.
“It ended peacefully which is good,” Lt. Earl Smith with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. “No one else was hurt.
"There’s still a lot of work to be done. Just because a suspect is taken into custody doesn’t end the investigation there’s a lot work to be done.”
Police responded to the couple's apartment after Coplin's 13-year-old son found her body. The boy’s father told KIRO 7 that the teen’s mother was covered when he found her – not in the disturbing manner that police said Kalac posted online.
“It’s a terrible thing,” Steve Boyer with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. “It’s an ugly, ugly crime and I just hate seeing this stuff.”
Kalac wrote about strangling the woman and his plan to be fatally shot by police, officers said. He posted the comments and photos anonymously on 4chan, but authorities confirmed they were from him, Kitsap County sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson said.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
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