Cops: Wash. murder suspects beat victim with shovels

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Police have identified the suburban Seattle man allegedly beaten to death with shovels by two suspects who were later caught after fleeing to Canada, reports CBS affiliate KIRO.

Twenty-year-old Kevin Patterson and Christopher Shade, 18, are charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and theft of a motor vehicle in the murder of 57-year-old Richard Bergesen at his home in Sammamish, Wash., according to the station.

Officers arrested the suspects at a hotel in Abbotsford, British Columbia on Wednesday night, nearly 12 hours after police in Sammamish found Bergesen's body. Neighbors said Patterson had been living with the victim.

Police said Patterson and Shade killed Bergesen, stole his credit cards and fled to Canada in his BMW. Court documents state that the victim's hands and legs were bound and he was beaten to death with shovels.

"He has said that if anything bad happened he'd go to Canada because he has dual citizenship," Eric Hardy, who knows Patterson, told KIRO. "He said that multiple times."

The station reports Bergesen met a homeless Patterson at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond and let him stay at his home for over a year. Patterson's relationship with Shade is unclear, as is whether Shade knew the victim prior to the incident.

Bail for the suspects has been set at $2 million, according to KIRO. Both men are currently in custody in Canada and will appear in court on Monday. Authorities are also looking into whether the duo illegally entered the country.