Des Moines man convicted in stepfather's murder

A 20-year-old Des Moines man has been convicted in the 2005 murder-for-hire of his stepfather, a Boeing engineer.

SEATTLE —

A 20-year-old Des Moines man has been convicted in the 2005 murder-for-hire of his stepfather, a Boeing engineer.

A King County Superior Court jury found John Ogden guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday. He faces 25 to 32 years in prison when he's sentenced in October.

Prosecutors said Ogden and his mother, Velma Ogden-Whitehead, conspired to hire one of Ogden's high school classmates, Wilson Sayachack, to hide in the back of Ron Whitehead's car and kill him as he drove to work on March 18, 2005. They allege Sayachack was paid $1,000 and told to make it look like a carjacking, but both the car and Whitehead's wallet were left behind.

Investigators said the motive was money: Velma Ogden-Whitehead sold two of Whitehead's rental properties for $460,000 after his death, and Whitehead's life insurance, retirement accounts and benefits from Boeing Co. totaled more than $650,000.

Ogden admitted in interviews with police that he helped plan the killing.

Velma Ogden-Whitehead, 50, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Sayachack will face his third trial next month; the first two ended in mistrials.

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