PUYALLUP, Wash. — One of the teens connected to the murder of a 79-year-old Pierce County convenience store owner made his first appearance in court Thursday afternoon.
KIRO 7 isn’t naming the suspect or showing his face because he hasn’t been formally charged.
Detectives said he’s one of the teens who robbed and killed Soon Ja Nam inside the Puyallup convenience store she and her husband owned for four decades.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office said the second teen suspect, who was found dead at Chinook Landing Marina on Monday, is Franklin Thuo.
He died after being shot in the head.
His family moved to Washington from Kenya.
Both suspects were students at Decatur High School in Federal Way.
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In a statement, the district said: “We are aware of the possible connection between Decatur High School students and an incident that happened off campus, over the weekend, on Saturday April 27, 2019. This incident has impacted our Decatur High School community, and we send our condolences to all who have been impacted by this event.”
The school has added additional counselors and security to campus.
On Thursday morning, the Pierce County dive team searched the water where Thuo’s body was found, looking for further evidence.
“Could be anything from shell casings to guns to stuff that might have been left when somebody dumped the person down here,” said Detective Ed Troyer, with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Since Saturday’s shooting, hundreds of flowers, candles and messages have been left in front of the Handy Corner store in Puyallup. It’s clear the community loved Nam and won’t forget her tragic death.
“It doesn’t bring any type of closure, but what it does bring is we have the people off the streets that did this, so they can’t hurt or harm anybody else,” said Troyer.
The surviving suspect is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon. He’s being held on a $2 million bond.
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