Murder spree suspects to return to Washington
(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - A couple suspected in a murder spree that left four people dead in three Western states are expected to be returned to Washington state within a month to face charges that could bring the death penalty.
David Joseph Pedersen and his girlfriend, Holly Grigsby, waived their right to an extradition hearing during a brief court appearance Tuesday in Yuba County, north of Sacramento, where they were arrested last week. The pair, who have expressed white supremacist beliefs, is suspected of killing his father, David "Red" Pedersen, 56, and his wife Leslie, 69, around Sept. 26 in Everett, Wash. They also allegedly killed two other people, including a 19-year-old man they believed was Jewish.
A fourth body, that of a 54-year-old man, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in California on Friday. Police in Eureka linked Reginald Alan Clark's death to the couple but didn't release details.
The pair was charged Monday in the Pedersens' deaths with aggravated first-degree murder in Snohomish County, Wash. Aggravated first-degree murder is punishable in Washington state only by execution or life in prison without release. Prosecutors have not determined whether to pursue the death penalty.
According to a prosecutor's affidavit in support of those charges, authorities have recovered bloody clothing, a knife and stolen credit cards that they believe the couple dumped in an Oregon trash can while on the run.
Grigsby told police she and her boyfriend were heading to Sacramento, Calif., to "kill more Jews" when they were arrested last week in California, the affidavit said. Grigsby also told investigators that she fatally stabbed Leslie Pedersen.
If true, that could be a basis for federal hate-crime charges. Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, confirmed Tuesday that her office had been in touch with counterparts in Snohomish County as well as federal prosecutors in other states to determine where the pair should be prosecuted.
More on Crimesider
October 11, 2011 - Holly Grigsby, suspect in Northwest crime spree, admits to killing Washington woman
October 10, 2011 - 3rd body linked to white supremacists' alleged Wash. crime spree
October 6, 2011 - Death of Ore. teen Cody Myers linked to white supremacists fleeing Wash. murder scene
