Murder of Thurston County couple may have been tied to fight over eviction

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — A man accused of killing a missing Thurston County couple has been ordered to be held without bail.

New court documents allege the man brutally murdered chiropractor Karen Koep and her husband, Davido, and then hid the bodies.

The whole thing is believed to be over a beef with Davido who was considering evicting him from their property.

We spoke to Koep’s sisters after the hearing who was very upset after seeing the man suspected of killing the couple. That, and a pretty brutal description of the crime scene.

“That they, too, believed that the amount of blood that was in the home was unsurvivable,” said Thurston County Deputy Prosecutor, Jennifer Lord.

That is the sobering assessment from two sets of crime scene investigators who were inside the Thurston County home of Karen Koep and Davido. Deputies were there to do a welfare check on the couple after they disappeared on November 10.

“Further, there was blood found in both Mister Burke’s vehicle and there was blood found in Ms. (Koep’s) vehicle,” Lord said.

The couple’s grieving family, including their two sons and their wives, filled the front benches at his bail hearing, taking turns, it seemed, to cry.

Forty-five-year-old Timothy Burke is accused of murdering them.

According to court documents, Burke was a tenant living on an Olympia property Davido owned. Investigators found emails from Burke that were “very negative” toward Davido. At one point, he accused Davido of putting something in the water. A close friend told investigators Davido was preparing to evict Burke.

But the strongest evidence they said is that shell casings from Burke’s .45-caliber weapon were found in the couple’s home.

A friend of the couple yelled out.

“Tell him to give that family some closure and tell them where the bodies are,” she said.

“Ma’am, ma’am,” admonished Superior Court Judge John Skinder.

Of course, that is what everyone involved in this case wants to know.

But Timothy Burke is not talking. He spoke just once during the half-hour hearing, to verify his date of birth.

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