By Reporter Staff
A Sammamish woman, 39-year-old Rhan Rha from Sammamish, was found dead onboard a boat in President Channel off Orcas Island Wednesday, Aug. 12., in an apparent murder-suicide.
San Juan County Sheriff’s Office reported finding Rha’s body along with her apparent murderer, 39-year-old Albert Beutler of Bellevue.
Bellevue Police say Beutler texted approximately five of his friends about killing his girlfriend and about intentions to kill himself.
Beutler was a service advisor at Bellevue BMW. He reportedly made death threats to either the dealership’s service manager or general manager, according to Adam Teague, a Jaguar Bellevue employee who heard accounts from BMW workers.
Bellevue Police surrounded the vicinity of the BMW dealership around mid day on Wednesday. Teague said some of the officers were armed with assault rifles.
“He (Beutler) had made some threats about going over there and harming some people,” said Bellevue Police spokeswoman Ofc. Carla Iafrate. “We went up there and set up a perimeter.”
The first 9-1-1 call from one of his friends came in around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, according to Iafrate.
Bellevue Police used Beutler’s cell phone signal to approximate his position. They notified outside law-enforcement agencies that a possible murder suspect was thought to be on his way to the San Juan Islands.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Coast Guard, including a HH-65C Dolphin Helicopter from Port Angeles and vessels from Station Bellingham, responded to the reports.
The Coast Guard discovered Beutler on a 36-foot powerboat as it left Friday Harbor, traveling toward President Channel, off the westside of Orcas Island. The Coast Guard was joined by an additional vessel from Customs/Homeland Security.
San Juan Sheriff Jon Zerby said officers approached the boat and ordered Beutler to stay on deck, but he went below. A shot was heard shortly thereafter, Zerby said.
Officers boarded the boat and found the suspect alive but very seriously wounded, Serby said.
An attempt at CPR was made by Coast Guard EMT crewman, but the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 9-mm pistol was removed from the boat by police, according to Zerby.
A patrol vessel from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene and assumed jurisdiction of the investigation. Sheriff’s officers found Rha dead in the forward section of the powerboat.
Rha appeared to have died some time prior to the discovery of her body, Zerby said. The location and cause of death is unknown.
“At this point, we don’t know how she was killed or where exactly it took place,” Zerby said. “Her death could have taken place in Bellevue or anywhere south leading to San Juan. We are trying to piece it all together.”
Coroners later ruled that she had been strangled.
The boat was taken to Friday Harbor for body removal and investigation.
The deceased were taken to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner for post-mortem examination, Zerby said.
The day after the murder an Eastside woman told the Bellevue Reporter that she had dinner with Beutler the night before he apparently killed Rha.
“He was here and it was just the two of us,” said the woman, who didn’t want to be identified. “I don’t know why he didn’t kill me.”
The woman who had dinner with Beutler said she was one of those who received a text message.
“I can’t make it for dinner,” Beutler’s test message read. “I’m really sorry to have gotten you involved in all of this. I have done something really really bad.”
The woman said she texted back to ask what he had done. He responded: “I killed my girlfriend last night I’m sorry.”
Recalling the dinner the night before, the woman said Beutler, “was so agitated and nervous.” But, she added, “I didn’t feel threatened.”
The woman said Beutler was “extremely jealous” of his girlfriend.
Friends of Rha told The Reporter that she had only recently come to know Beutler, and that “girlfriend” was not an accurate description of her relationship to him.
The boat was taken to Friday Harbor where a search warrant was obtained and the boat was searched for evidence and for body removal. The bodies will be taken to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner for post-mortem examination.
Staff members of the San Juan Journal contributed to this report.
Rhan Rha was born in 1970 in Seoul, the capital city of Korea where most of her family still lives.
While in Korea, she earned a bachelor degree in music and an associate degree in fashion coordination from the Seoul Women’s University.
When she moved to the United States in 1996 she began to utilize her great skill as a pianist and her passion for music, establishing a successful business as a community piano teacher.
Rha and her 10 year-old son Noah were devoted members of the Korean Yedam Church in Bellevue, where Rha provided the piano accompaniment at Sunday services.
“She will be mourned by hundreds of families who have taken lessons from her over the years,” friend Michelle Manson said. “We’d like her to be remembered for her contributions to our community rather than just as a victim of this horrible tragedy.”
A memorial for Rha was held on Monday Aug. 17, at the Korean Yedam Church in Bellevue.
