SEATTLE — The woman who discovered the bodies of a murdered Carnation family took the stand on Wednesday.
Linda Thiele testified about the day her best friend, Judy Anderson, didn’t show up for work at the Carnation Post Office.
Joe McEnroe is charged with six counts of aggravated first-degree murder for killing his girlfriend's family in Carnation on Christmas Eve in 2007.
His girlfriend, Michele K. Anderson is also charged with the murders.
Linda Thiele told the jury she knew something was wrong when Judy Anderson didn’t show up for work the day after Christmas, 2007.
“Because she was never late and never missed a day without you knowing ahead of time,” said Thiele.
When Judy Anderson didn't answer her phone, Thiele drove to her house. The gate was locked so she parked her car and walked to the home. She opened the door and found the victims on the floor in the front room.
She told jurors she thought they could have carbon monoxide poisoning.
“When I stepped over the body I saw the body had been shot in the face,” said Thiele.
She called 911. For 32 minutes she hid in a back bedroom, worried the killer could still be on the property.
While prosecutors played the call family members cried, Thiele bowed her head. On the call Thiele told dispatchers she thought Michele K. Anderson could be responsible because the gate to the property was still locked, and Michele K. Anderson and her boyfriend, Joe McEnroe, also lived on the property.
After seven years of delays, and attempts to try to get the death penalty off the table, McEnroe's trial started onTuesday.
Prosecutor Scott O'Toole described how the pair shot Wayne and Judy Anderson, hid their bodies in the backyard and waited for other family members to arrive.
When Michele K. Anderson's brother, Scott Anderson, arrived, the two started to argue, according to O'Toole. Investigators say Michele K. Anderson shot her brother. When her gun jammed, Joe McEnroe shot him again.
Then the pair shot Erica Anderson, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say Erica Anderson pleaded with McEnroe to spare her young children, Olivia, 5 and Nathan, 3.
"The defendant told detective Pavlovich how Erica pleaded with him, 'You don't have to do this,' the defendant responded, 'Yes we do. Olivia is next,’" said O'Toole, as jurors wiped away tears.
Investigators say the motive was money. Anderson was upset her parents were going to ask her to start paying rent for the mobile home she and McEnroe shared on her parents' property. Anderson believed her brother owed her money.
When it was time for the defense to give opening statements,Defense Attorney Leo Himaji said McEnroe did kill the Anderson family. He did it because he was under the control of Michele K. Anderson. She had told him about a lifetime of abuse, a story Himaji said Michele K. Anderson made up.
"In that instant as he pulled the trigger, his world was those delusions. This is what he believed to be true," said Himaji.
McEnroe's trial has been delayed by arguments over a possible death penalty and whether he can change his not guilty plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. McEnroe tried to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. The prosecutor wouldn't make a deal.
"McEnroe doesn't get to choose his punishment, a jury does," said O'Toole.
McEnroe's trial is expected to last four months.
The defense for McEnroe and Michelle K. Anderson has topped $8 million, according to the King County Department of Public Defense.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office says it has spent just over $1 million.
The costs associated with investigations and work by the WSP Crime Lab are not included in that figure. Anderson's trial, delayed by questions of her mental competency, is scheduled for the fall.
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