In the news:
Originally published February 8, 2012 at 11:09 AM | Page modified February 9, 2012 at 3:44 PM
Corrected version
Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
A King County jury Tuesday convicted a man of first-degree murder in the 2010 killing of a Des Moines woman who was found stabbed 63 times.
Seattle Times staff reporter
A 24-year-old man who repeatedly stabbed a 28-year-old woman and beat her as she begged for her life was found guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder.
Daniel Threadgill, a club promoter who also worked in a cellphone-sales kiosk in the Tacoma Mall, attacked Jennifer Walstrand at the behest of a woman he was working with, prosecutors say. Araya McMillon, 21, who also worked as a prostitute, had a rivalry with Walstrand, prosecutors said.
McMillon was initially charged with first-degree murder, but later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder as part of a plea agreement. She testified against Threadgill and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Threadgill faces more than 30 years in prison, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Sentencing is scheduled for March 23.
Walstrand suffered 63 stab wounds and many of her teeth were kicked out during the attack inside her Des Moines apartment late on the night of Aug. 30 and into the early hours of Aug. 31, 2010, according to charging documents.
Walstrand and McMillon were next-door neighbors in a Des Moines triplex in the 24000 block of 25th Avenue South.
Authorities say a number of tips led police to the suspects. McMillon showed up at her stepmother's home on Aug. 31 wearing bloody clothing. An anonymous tipster called CrimeStoppers on May 17, 2011, to report that McMillon and Threadgill were responsible for the murder. The tipster led police to other witnesses who confirmed that account.
Those witnesses told detectives they kept quiet about the homicide because they were concerned for their safety, charging papers say.
Prosecutors said that when police questioned McMillon again, she said she had been there, but denied direct involvement in Walstrand's murder.
McMillon told investigators she saw Threadgill stabbing the woman and heard Walstrand cry out, "Araya help me," charging papers say.
Material from Seattle Times archives was included in this report. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @SeattleSullivan.
Information in this article, originally published Feb. 8, 2012 was corrected Feb. 8, 2012. A previous version of this story incorrectly described what Daniel Threadgill did for a living. Along with working at a cellphone-sales kiosk, he also worked in the club-promotion business.
