PUYALLUP, Wash. — After a wait of more than three years, the trial of a man accused of strangling a developmentally disabled teenager near Puyallup is finally about to begin.
Tyler Savage, 21, is accused of luring 16-year-old Kimberly Daily into the woods near her home and killing her.
According to a kirotv.com report from August 25, 2010, Savage told detectives that when Kimberly got up to leave, he grabbed her from behind around the neck and choked her until she was dead, according to court documents.
He told detectives that he stripped Kimberly of her clothes to make it appear to be "something else, like she was raped," the court documents said.
Savage admitted that he had sexual contact with Kimberly, according to court documents.
Savage told detectives he carried Kimberly's body toward the brambles and dumped her where she was found, according to the documents. Savage said he threw her bicycle on top of her.
Savage said that after killing Kimberly, he went home and that by 4 p.m. on Aug. 17, he was at a neighbor's house playing an online video game in an effort to forget, according to the documents.
Detectives said they first interviewed Savage soon after Kimberly disappeared when she left for a friend's house. They said that when they questioned him again on Monday, he showed them where he had concealed her body. Investigators said Savage admitted to them he had fantasized about murdering someone.
Savage's arrest shocked neighbors and family members because he had no other criminal history and was known as a nice guy who never showed any violent tendencies.
Savage is charged with aggravated first-degree murder but will not face the death penalty.
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist said, "This is not a case where the death penalty would likely be upheld so we are not seeking the death penalty."
Savage could be sentenced to life without parole if convicted. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday morning in Pierce County Superior Court.
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