Inmate accused of killing corrections officer is charged with aggravated murder

Snohomish County prosecutors have filed a charge of aggravated first-degree murder against the prison inmate accused of strangling Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl in a chapel at the Monroe Correctional Complex last month.

The charge filed Thursday leaves prosecutors the option to seek the death penalty against 52-year-old Byron Scherf.

Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe said he has 30 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty once Scherf is arraigned in Superior Court. Roe cautioned that the decision is often delayed in an agreement with the defense.

In a statement, Roe said that he met with Biendl's family last week to discuss the case.

"They expressed their wish that the suspect, if convicted, receive the death penalty. Their wishes are part of what I will consider in making that decision," Roe said.

The only other punishment possible for an aggravated-murder conviction is life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said that two aggravating factors elevate Scherf's case to a possible death-penalty case — that Biendl was working as a law-enforcement officer when she was slain and that Scherf was incarcerated in prison when he allegedly killed her.

According to the probable-cause documents released Thursday by Snohomish County prosecutors, Scherf believes that he deserves to die.

"I took her life and I think I should forfeit mine," Scherf told Monroe police investigators earlier this month, according to the documents. "If I get a life sentence and she's [dead] then there's no punishment attached to it because I already have a life sentence."

The statement is contained in probable-cause documents outlining the police case against Scherf and signed by Monroe police Detective Barry Hatch. The documents were submitted Thursday during Scherf's first court appearance in connection with the slaying as an Everett District Court judge decided there was probable cause to hold him in the slaying of Biendl.

Scherf told police Biendl offended him while they were in the prison chapel on Jan. 29, the probable-cause documents said. What Biendl said to Scherf was not revealed by investigators, but Scherf said her statement "triggered a response in me."

"I got to the point where I knew I was going to kill her," Scherf said in his statement to police.

According to the probable-cause statement:

Scherf said he waited for everyone to leave the chapel. He then closed a gate to make sure nobody else would come in. He came up from behind Biendl and started pulling at her radio, eventually breaking it. Scherf said the two fought. Biendl bit him and stomped on his foot before they wound up wrestling on the floor, the probable-cause statement said.

Scherf then took a cord and wrapped it around the officer's neck and strangled her. Snohomish County Medical Examiner Norman Thiersch said the officer's neck suffered a "considerable amount of force," according to the probable-cause statement.

Scherf said he then sat down in the chapel foyer, away from Biendl's body, and waited for prison staff to find him, according to the statement. When corrections staff asked him about the injuries to his hands and blood on his jacket, he said he had gotten into a fight with other inmates.

Prison staff did not inspect the chapel until about an hour later, when watch-control officers were notified Biendl had not returned her equipment before the end of her 9 p.m. shift, the probable-cause statement said.

Biendl was found face up on the stage area in the sanctuary, a cord wrapped around her neck, the statement said.

Scherf was arrested.

On Feb. 9, he asked to speak with Monroe police investigators and waived his right to remain silent, according to the statement.

"I'm responsible for the death of the correctional officer," Scherf said, according to police. "I strangled her to death on January 29 at approximately 8:40 in the chapel."

Scherf, who is serving a life sentence for his third rape conviction, told investigators he did not sexually assault Biendl. Investigators say there is no evidence of any type of sexual assault, the probable-cause statement said.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com