MERCER ISLAND, Wash. (TCD) — Police arrested two people in California last week on suspicion of killing a 74-year-old missing man from Washington, who was found dead with a sharp force injury to his neck.
According to Mercer Island Police and the Washington State Patrol, Curtis Engeland’s roommate reported him missing on Saturday, Feb. 24, stating he was “acting outside of his normal routine.” Officers responded to Engeland’s home and uncovered evidence suggesting the victim had died and was not just missing.
Investigators identified two suspects, named by KOMO-TV as 32-year-old Philip Brewer and 47-year-old Christina Hardy, and used GPS location history from their cell phones to find Engeland’s body. Police said locating Engeland’s remains were “critical in connecting the final pieces of the investigation linking the suspects to the crime.”
Following the victim’s death, the suspects allegedly fled Washington state and went to Salem, Oregon before traveling to Southern California. Police said they rented various cars and acquired new cell phones to cover their tracks.
Engeland reportedly sustained blunt force trauma to his face and died of a sharp force injury to the neck. According to KOMO, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office detected fentanyl in his system as well.
Officers also reportedly found Engeland’s car in a grocery store parking lot with the trunk open. Inside, they found a cardboard box with a “large amount of blood,” a white towel with apparent blood, and two water bottles.
Police allege the suspects met Engeland several months ago and “financially defrauded him” before “violently” confronting Engeland at his home on Feb. 23 and driving off in his car. The suspects allegedly took over the victim’s finances, identity, and home.
According to court documents obtained by KOMO, the suspects allegedly took $6,200 from Engeland’s home equity line of credit account and thousands of dollars from his other accounts.
In an attempt to cover up their crimes, Brewer and Hardy allegedly sent text messages from Engeland’s phone and concocted “fake conversations between themselves and the victim, likely in hopes that the police would assume he was still alive and to try to absolve themselves of suspicion.” Someone reportedly received a text from the victim’s phone at 3 a.m. and said it was “suspicious in nature due to the time and subject matter.”
Police received a report that Brewer was in Engeland’s home, and when officers arrived on scene, they reportedly found Brewer, Hardy, and Brewer’s son. According to KOMO, Hardy told police they met Engeland through a Craigslist ad asking for a house sitter, and they became friends.
Hardy reportedly said Engeland “offered to rent her and Brewer his basement for $500/month” and that Brewer would be gone for three to six weeks.
According to KOMO, police questioned Brewer and Hardy about emails connecting them to the victim’s bank accounts, and they said, “Engeland had added them to his financial accounts so they could pay for utilities while Engeland was away.”
The suspects also reportedly told officials Engeland allowed them to drive his vehicle.
While police interviewed Brewer and Hardy, two of the victim’s siblings arrived and said they received suspicious text messages from Engeland that were not grammatically correct. It raised flags because Engeland was a former English teacher and “always texted in complete, grammatically correct sentences.”
According to KOMO, the siblings told police they didn’t know Engeland was planning to leave or rent out his home.
Charging documents reviewed by KOMO allege the siblings didn’t want Brewer and Hardy at Engeland’s home, and the suspects left soon after.
Police learned Brewer and Hardy purchased the car they were driving for more than $25,000 using Engeland’s credit card, KOMO reports. Investigators reportedly obtained surveillance footage showing the suspects making the purchase inside a car dealership.
On March 14, California Highway Patrol pulled over a man who was dating Hardy’s daughter. The man told a trooper he had been staying with Brewer and Hardy in Blythe, California, but was fleeing. They allegedly told the man they were going to “‘kidnap’ Hardy’s daughter to take her back to Washington to watch their children because they were going to prison.”
According to KOMO, the man told the trooper Brewer and Hardy said they killed Engeland by “injecting him with fentanyl and drove him somewhere to dump the body.”
The suspects allegedly dumped Engeland while he was still alive, and then Brewer stabbed him in the neck as Hardy held the victim down. According to court documents obtained by KOMO, the medical examiner said Engeland’s sharp force injury to the neck “would have taken at least a couple hours for death to occur.”
Prior to his death, Engeland had previously reported to police in January that his wallet, keys, and cell phone had been taken from his home, KOMO reports. Engeland reportedly spoke with Brewer on a dating application for approximately a week before they met in person. The two allegedly went on a hike and then to Engeland’s home to watch a movie. Engeland reportedly fell asleep, and when he woke up, Brewer and Engeland’s belongings were gone.
Brewer and Hardy remain in custody in California pending extradition back to Washington. KOMO reports the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged the suspects with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree identity theft, and first-degree theft.
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