Teen allegedly used 'cane' to kill dad, put body in compost box

TACOMA -- A 16-year-old Tacoma boy who called 911 said he had killed his dad with a cane during an argument and put his body in a box outside the home, court documents said Wednesday.

A body was found by police Tuesday in a compost box on the property.

On Wednesday, the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office identified the deceased as the father, Richard Salzman, 49, of Tacoma. The cause of death was listed as blunt force injuries and manner of death was listed as a homicide.

Tacoma police investigators said the 911 call came from inside the house, just after 9 a.m. Tuesday.

"The son who lived here called 911 and said he had killed his father,” Tacoma police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said Tuesday.

According to court documents filed Wednesday, the teenager on Tuesday admitted to his father's wife -- who had filed a missing persons report on her husband earlier -- that he and his dad had gotten into an argument last Friday night and that Salzman pushed him to the ground. The boy said he then picked up a "cane" and struck his dad in the head, killing him, the documents said.

Police found the father's body in a compost box on the property.  Police said pieces of the father's bicycle were placed on top of the body, along with oil, cat litter and dirt.

The teen was arrested Tuesday and is being held Remann Hall Detention Facility for investigation of second-degree murder.

He is to appear in court Friday. If he is formally charged with second-degree murder, the prosecutor's office said, it will be as an adult.