A South Kitsap man accused of murdering his girlfriend and then posting graphic photographs of her and comments on the Internet was arrested in Oregon.
Deputy Scott Wilson, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said that David Michael Kalac, 33, was taken into custody around 9 p.m. Wednesday by officers from the Wilsonville Police Department in Clackamas County, Ore. Wilsonville is 20 miles south of Portland.
Kalac was taken into custody at the Westside Express Service transit center, 9699 SW Barber St., at 8:50 p.m. He was booked into the Justice Center Jail in Portland early Thursday morning, according to The Oregonian.
He is accused of the Nov. 4 murder of 30-year-old Amber Lynn Coplin.
A sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the area when a man came out of nearby bushes and identified himself as Kalac. Kalac reportedly told the deputy he was wanted for murder in Washington, said Sgt. Nate Thompson, spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.
Thompson said Kalac was taken into custody without incident
“It’s unheard of for something like this to happen,” Thompson told The Oregonian. “We are glad that it did. It’s a good ending to this.”
Two Kitsap County Sheriff’s detectives are in Oregon to interview Kalac.
Wilson said Kalac was booked into the Multnomah County Jail on the warrant of arrest, pending extradition to Washington and Kitsap County. Bail was set by the court at $2 million.
Kitsap County Superior Court issued the warrant Wednesday for Kalac.
Murder scene
Kalac, a convicted felon, had been living with the woman at an apartment home in the 4000 block of Madrona Drive SE. He has a history of assault and harassment, and was convicted of domestic violence against another female in April, according to court records.
Court documents stated that Coplin was found lying nude in her bed by her 13-year-old son, who later called his father. His father came over and found Coplin unresponsive and called 911 about 3:30 p.m. South Kitsap Fire and Rescue emergency personnel responded and confirmed the woman was deceased. She was found bleeding from her mouth and nose.
The son told investigators that his mother and the suspect had a loud argument on Monday.
Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies found writing on a picture inside the woman’s bedroom, along with the woman’s driver’s license with writing stating “dead” near her head. The words, “bad news” were written on the blinds, according to court documents. The victim’s purse was found emptied and some of the contents was missing, including a set of car keys.
Wilson said that Kalac’s clothing, personal and electronic items were missing from the apartment.
Investigators discovered that the victim’s 2001 gold Ford Focus was missing. It was found abandoned Nov. 5 by Portland Police Bureau in the 1300 block of Custer Avenue SW in Portland, Wilson reported Wednesday.
According The Oregonian, the victim’s car led police on a high-speed chase in Portland early Wednesday morning. About 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, Central Precinct officers spotted the car at Southeast Ninth Avenue and Powell Boulevard. Officers followed the Focus until a sergeant stopped the pursuit about Southwest 30th Avenue, police said, because the car was swerving into oncoming traffic.
Photos posted online by suspect
Several graphic photographs showing the victim were posted on 4chan, an online bulletin board. The images appeared the show the woman hours before her body was discovered.
Wilson said during the initial stages of the investigation, CenComm became inundated with nationwide reports about photographs posted on an Internet file-sharing website. The photographs depicted images of a deceased female with trauma, nude and showing the interior of a residence, he added.
“The person who posted the photographs to the website added comments concerning how the victim was killed,” reported Wilson.
Wilson said detectives determined the images are those of the deceased victim, trauma observed and interior of the apartment crime scene.
“They (detectives) also believe that Kalac is the individual responsible for placing the graphic images into public domain,” he added.
Two individuals posted a link in the comment section of the story posted on the Port Orchard Independent website. The link went to a site were several photographs of a woman who appears dead lying nude on a bed.
Wilson said the photographs appeared to be have been posted before 3 p.m.
The images were taken at the scene of the crime.
A posting by an anonymous individual stated: “Turns out is harder to strangle someone to death than it looks in the movies.”
Another posting by the same individual stated: “I just wanted to share the pics before they find me. I bought a bb gun that looks realistic enough.
“When they come, I’ll pull it and it will be suicide by cop. I understand the doubts. Just click the @#% news. I have to lose my phone now.”
Wilson said the Kitsap County Coroner will conduct a parallel investigation. An autopsy was scheduled for Nov. 6 to determine the cause and manner of death.
