Man who drove to state psychiatric hospital with slain girlfriend in Jeep charged with murder

SEATTLE -- A Lacey man who police said confessed he had stabbed his girlfriend to death in Seattle and then drove her body to the state's psychiatric hospital and asked to be committed was formally charged with second-degree murder Wednesday.

Attila Richards, 29, was being held Tuesday in the King County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail.

The case came to light when he showed up Sunday at Western State, the state's psychiatric hospital in Lakewood,  with the body in a Jeep Cherokee. He told staff that he had killed his girlfriend and her body was in the Jeep.

The woman's body was later identified as being that of Biftu Hussein Dadi, 24.

According to Seattle police, Richards told detectives in interviews that after visiting a strip club in north Seattle, Dadi drove Richards to the 3900 block of Burke Avenue North to sleep in the Jeep for the night. He said Dadi told him to stay awake while she slept in case police came by because there were drugs in the Jeep.

Richards said he fell asleep in the back seat and was later awakened by Dadi kicking him in the head and screaming that he was sleeping and risking their being caught by police.

Richards said she began to scream, "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to shoot you," and then found a gun that Richards owned. At that point, Dadi said he pulled a folding "skinning knife with a gut hook" out of his pocket and repeatedly stabbed Dadi.

Richards said he then drove the Jeep with Dadi inside south on Interstate 5 and eventually to Western State Hospital, where he reported her death.

Richards does not have a felony criminal history.