Prosecutor: Murder of Yancy Noll possible 'thrill kill'

SEATTLE — The murder of Yancy Noll was called something other than road rage for the first time on Monday, when a prosecutor referred to the crime a possible "thrill kill."

Noll, a popular wine steward, was gunned down in his car in August.

The accused killer, 30-year-old Dinh Bowman, was in court on Monday, asking a judge for bail.

During Bowman's court appearance, King County Senior deputy prosecutor Scott O'Toole argued that Bowman should continue to be held without bail.

"The safety of the community, I think, would be at great risk," O'Toole said.

O'Toole told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Deborah Horne that he did not know what Bowman's motive was.

"It could be anything along the spectrum of anything from a road rage to a thrill kill or somewhere in between," he said.

The judge, however, concluded that the law requires that he set bail for Bowman.

Calling the alleged crime "exceedingly violent," he set bail at $10 million.

Bowman had been jailed without the possibility of posting bail since his arrest on charges he shot Noll in the head while they were side-by-side in their cars.

Bowman's attorney, John Henry Browne, wanted to the judge to set bail at $1 million, claiming the defendant was not a risk to flee and was not a risk to the community.

More than 50 of Noll's friends and relatives attended the courtroom hearing -- so many that some had to stand outside listening through overhead speakers.

Noll's friends and relatives said they did not want any bail set for Bowman, giving him the chance to get out of jail.

"This is a dangerous man, who has access to resources. He has shown callousness. He laughed upon arrest. This is a dangerous, dangerous man," said Annie Jacobsen, a friend of Noll.

Prosecutors said Bowman went to great lengths to hide from police and cover up the crime after the shooting.

Bowman allegedly drove to Portland to have work done on his BMW, and bought new wheels to try to differentiate his car from the one witnesses had described to police.

KIRO