'At least you will know who killed me,' slain Kirkland mom wrote

Amy Hargrove was killed in her Kirkland home on Jan. 5, 2014. Her ex-boyfriend has been charged with second-degree murder in the case.



 

SEATTLE -- The former boyfriend of a 28-year-old Kirkland woman was charged with second-degree murder Tuesday in connection with her death in Kirkland in January.

Bail of $1.5 million was set for Burrell M. Cushman, 28, of Seattle, who is accused of killing ex-girlfriend Amy Hargrove during a domestic violence assault in her Kirkland home on Jan. 5.

Hargove's body was discovered by her mother in their home on Jan. 6. She was strangled in her own bedroom.

In a request for bail to the court, a King County prosecutor wrote, "The very extensive investigation by the Kirkland Police Department shows that the defendant had a history of domestic violence with Amy Hargrove. She had obtained a protection order (against Cushman) where she wrote 'a piece of paper isn't going to save my life when he finally gets me, but at least you will know who killed me.'"

The prosecutor wrote that despite Hargrove's misgivings, she allowed the defendant back into her life, in part because the defendant is the father of her child, and he spent the weekend of Jan. 4-5 with her even though the no-contact order was still in place.

"The defendant was the last person to be with the victim while she was still alive. Amy's apparent time of death ... coincides with the defendant's departure from the residence and his crying phone call to his mother. While he denied harming the victim, he told his mother that he had a 'bad feeling about tonight.'"

Police said there was no evidence of an intruder in the home and no evidence of a robbery or sexual assault.

"The victim was strangled to death and the defendant's DNA was found on samples from her fingernails," the prosecutor wrote.

Hargrove lived with her family at a home on Northeast 130th Place in Kirkland. Detectives say that’s where she was killed.

Police said Cushman is a three-time convicted felon with a relevant conviction of three-degree assault. He is currently being held in the King County Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for July 22.

Here is an earlier Q13 FOX News video report on the case.