ABERDEEN, Wash. — An argument over a motorcycle turned to murder, and nine years later, detectives thought they might have finally solved the mystery of where the body was hidden after photos of a human skeleton were sent to a prison inmate.
John Price is in a Washington state prison serving time for murder. Last month, he was mailed a letter with pictures of a skeleton investigators thought might have been the remains of his long-gone victim.
After years of legal wrangling, Price, known as "Nazi John" to his fellow Ghost Rider motorcycle gang members, pleaded guilty in 2012 to murdering Donald Jessup, the former president of the Gypsy Jokers motorcycle gang in December of 2004.
According to documents, the conviction was a "no body homicide" case because Jessup's remains were never found.
And Price told investigators he "got rid of the body and nobody was going to find it."
Then, just last month, workers at the Stafford Creek prison in Aberdeen intercepted an envelope sent to Price.
Inside it was a letter and photos.
The first photo depicted an upright skeleton in a wooden coffin.
The second was a close-up of the skull, with damage to the teeth "consistent with a handgun gunshot wound to the mouth,” documents said.
Price admitted years ago that he shot Jessup in the mouth, so investigators with the King County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at a Port Orchard home because its address was on the envelope sent to the prison.
The home belongs to convicted felon, Anthony Flinn.
Inside the home, investigators found skeletal remains, a handgun, a camera and photos, but on Wednesday investigators said the skeleton is not Jessup’s, but the remains are human.
Police said they don't know why Flinn sent the pictures to Price.
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Amy Clancy tried to find out, too, but no one answered the door at Flinn's home, nor picked up the phone when she called.
The King County Sheriff’s Office said it might investigate Flinn for the unlawful disposal of human remains, depending on what the Medical Examiner’s Office finds when it examines the skeleton.
Meanwhile, it’s still a mystery what happened to the body of Donald Jessup.
KIRO
