Man shot by Pierce County sheriff's deputy was prime suspect in unsolved murder

Roy, Wash. — When a Pierce County sheriff's deputy shot and killed Michael Bourquin, the 21-year-old was wanted on an arrest warrant in connection with a drug and identity theft case. But sources tell KIRO 7 he was also the prime suspect in the disappearance and possible slaying of Christopher Virdell, a Spanaway teenager who vanished nearly two years ago.

Bourquin was shot Saturday when deputies stopped a truck he was riding in in Roy. They say when they tried to arrest him Bourquin fought back, spraying the two deputies with bear Mace and struggling with them on the ground. “And then a minute after that you heard three rounds, a pause and then a fourth round,”, said eyewitness Mike Doiel. “And Michael was laying flat right here dead as you can be.”

Investigators won’t say why Bourquin was suspected in the Virdell case. Virdell, 19, was last seen Feb. 9, 2012, leaving for work from his home in Spanaway.  His disappearance was first handled as a missing person case. But detectives soon became convinced Virdell had been killed and his body dumped in rural Pierce County.

Virdell’s father Paul Virdell said he has been convinced Bourquin was his son’s killer since the summer of 2012. Asked why he thought Bourquin killed Christopher, Paul Virdell said, “I have no clue.” Paul Virdell added that Bourquin’s death could turn the investigation into his son’s disappearance and death upside down and make it even more difficult to solve. A Sheriff’s Department spokesman said he could not confirm or deny Bourquin’s possible role in Christopher Virdell’s disappearance, saying it was still an open and active investigation.

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