South Park slaying suspect caught

The suspect arrested Friday in Sunday's knife attack in South Park that left a woman dead and her partner wounded was ordered held in jail today on $10 million bail.

The man, Isaiah M.K. Kalebu, also is suspected in a Pierce County fire this month that killed two people, including his aunt.

Kalebu was arrested in Magnuson Park about 6:30 p.m., not long after police released his name and photograph and asked for the public's help finding him. Early this afternoon, King County District Court Judge pro-tem Karli Jorgensen ordered Kalebu held on $10 million bail for investigation of first-degree murder, attempted-first degree murder, two counts of rape, and one count of burglary.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole said that his office is considering seeking the death penalty.

"The defendant is somebody who proves a grave risk of danger based on the underlying charges here and the pending [domestic violence] trial, charges involving his mother, and he's a person of interest in the Pierce County double homicide,"O'Toole said

Defense attorney Phillip Tavel argued in court that Kalebu should be offered a more "reasonable" bail amount. Tavel said he briefly spoke with Kalebu today and said that the man's "mental state is very clear."

On Friday, Kalebu was arrested after a Metro bus driver recognized him in the Sand Point area and called police. Officers found him shortly after, said police spokesman Jeff Kappel.

The 23-year-old man has a history of mental illness and run-ins with police. He faces trial next month for threatening to kill his mother.

Less than a week before the South Park attack, the judge in that case denied a prosecutor's request to keep Kalebu in custody, court records show.

Kalebu is suspected of setting a fire July 9 at his aunt's University Place home, though he hasn't been charged with a crime in that case. The fire started the day after Kalebu's aunt filed for a protection order against him and made him leave her house.

Earlier Friday, Seattle police had released a video of Kalebu and asked for help identifying him.

"When we saw the video of the suspect with the pit bull, all of our hearts down here skipped a beat," said Sgt. Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the fire. "Unfortunately, we didn't have enough to arrest him."

About 3 a.m. Sunday — 10 days after the Pierce County fire — someone crawled through the open window of a South Park home and attacked Teresa Butz, 39, and her partner, a 36-year-old woman. Butz was killed in what police are calling one of the most brutal crimes they've seen in some time. Butz's partner was released from the hospital Monday.

Friday, Seattle police said Kalebu was the only suspect wanted in connection with that random attack. They did not disclose details about any evidence linking Kalebu to the slaying.

Family's 'utter relief'

Teresa Butz's remains were sent home to her family in Missouri on Wednesday, a memorial service was held Thursday and Butz was buried on Friday.

"To have this happen on the day we buried our sister was just complete joy for us, that he is found," Butz' brother, Tim Butz, said Friday night. "We just didn't want anyone else harmed. My thought was utter relief."

Butz said he was told that his sister sacrificed herself to save her partner.

The two women were planning a commitment ceremony in September. They had a trip to Barcelona, Spain, planned to celebrate Butz's 40th birthday.

Butz worked for The Regus Group, a company that provides office space to businesses. She also served on the board of the Compass Center, a social-service agency.

A neighbor, Albert Barrientes, said the victims managed to get outside after the attack. Barrientes said that before she died, Butz said of the killer: "He told us if we did what he asked us to do he wouldn't hurt us. He lied, he lied."

Judge denied request

Six days before the South Park attack, Kalebu appeared before King County Superior Court Judge Brian Gain for a pretrial hearing at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. He was to go on trial next month on charges of felony harassment and malicious mischief for allegedly threatening to kill his mother last year.

Deputy King County Prosecutor Zac Hostetter asked Gain to remand Kalebu into custody "based on concerns of mental instability and Rachel Kalebu's protection order filed just prior to the arson," according to documents filed in King County Superior Court.

Hostetter also cited the Pierce County homicide and arson investigation, and noted that Kalebu had missed an earlier court date.

Gain denied the motion. Efforts by The Times to reach Gain on Friday night were not successful.

Defense attorney Theresa Griffin had handled that case for about five months until she asked to be removed earlier this week. She said she last saw Kalebu on Monday and he "appeared fine."

Griffin wouldn't say why she withdrew from the case; she said Kalebu did not threaten or intimidate her.

Benito Cervantes, a Burien criminal investigator who worked with Kalebu when Griffin handled his case, said Friday night that he's "relieved that Isaiah is in custody so that nobody else is in jeopardy."

Cervantes said he spent July 12 — three days after the fire — with Kalebu prepping him for the King County case and the possibility that Gain might order him to jail for missing a hearing days earlier. He described Kalebu as quiet and withdrawn.

"He's tough to read," Cervantes said. "He did appear to be holding back information from me."

Cervantes said Kalebu had graduated from a Seventh Day Adventist School in Auburn and dreamed of flying Navy jets someday.

"He's a very intelligent, very articulate young man," Cervantes said, adding that Kalebu showed up at the office with a book in hand.

Tavel took over as Kalebu's lawyer when Griffin was removed. Tavel is representing Kalebu in both the South Park and the case involving his mother.

Aunt was fearful

Rachel Kalebu, 62, and a tenant, 57-year-old John E. Jones, were killed when a fire started about 2 a.m. July 9 at their house in the 5500 block of 64th Avenue West in University Place.

Isaiah Kalebu also had been living in the house, but Rachel Kalebu had asked him to leave and filed in Pierce County Superior Court for a protection order the day before.

"It's no secret he's a suspect in our case," Troyer said Friday night. "We're still moving forward on our case. This [the South Park case] doesn't put ours on hold."

When she filed for the protection order, Rachel Kalebu wrote that her nephew had "threatened to harm me many times" and had struck her, according to court records. She said he "commands me and orders me around as if I am his junior ... I would like to have peace in my house."

Rachel Kalebu's niece, Barbara Semakula, said after the fire that Isaiah Kalebu had been threatening his aunt for about two months.

"He's been diagnosed bipolar and, you know, he's gotten into trouble and been arrested a couple of times and Rachel bailed him out because she was an affectionate person," said Rachel Kalebu's brother Joshua, adding "and the end result is what you see."

Threatens his mother

Isaiah Kalebu was facing trial in King County on Aug. 6 on domestic-violence chargesIn that case, prosecutors allege he threatened to kill his mother after she confronted him in March 2008 for not taking prescribed medication for "bi-polar and manic-depressive" conditions, a police affidavit states.

Among other things, Kalebu told his mother to "enjoy your last day on earth," before leaving the house, according to records. He returned the next day and threw a large rock into the windshield of his mother's car, court papers say, then told her and others at the house, "You're all dead."

After his arrest, a state psychologist evaluated Kalebu at Western State Hospital in May 2008. The evaluation found he "did not have the capacity to rationally understand" the case against him at that time.

Seattle Times staff reporters Maureen O'Hagan and Lindsay Toler, and news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report. Information from Seattle Times archives also is included.