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Brush Prairie man, friend arrested in connection with suspected murder-for-hire plot

The woman's husband may have solicited his friend to murder her under the guise of an interrupted burglary, the Clark County Sheriff's Office said.

WASHINGTON, USA — Probable cause documents reveal that a Brush Prairie man allegedly arranged for his friend to kill his wife under a guise of an interrupted burglary, and also had financial troubles. 

The suspect, James Rummell, has been arrested, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO), along with his friend, 55-year-old Darrell Riley. 

James Rumell's wife, identified Monday as 60-year-old Lindy Rummell, had been found dead Saturday evening inside a home on Northeast 119th Street near Northeast 182nd Avenue. 

According to court documents, a neighbor called 911 to report someone broke into the house and shot Lindy, adding that she was not breathing. Lindy had gotten off at work around 5 p.m. 

James had been over to a friend's house to do their taxes, the probable cause document stated. After picking up takeout, James and two friends, including the neighbor, entered the house and discovered Lindy on the ground.

CCSO arrived and confirmed Lindy's death, and observed a gunshot wound on her neck, as well as ".22 caliber casings and fired projectiles" in the kitchen and living room, authorities said. Later, CCSO found that Lindy had been shot in the neck, side and groin.

The front door had been open, and there appeared to be no "obvious signs of forced entry," with a bloody footprint found near her body, according to court documents. Multiple drawers and cabinets were also found opened throughout the house, including a pillowcase that contained things from the house, such as leather chaps and a collectible model car, along with "multiple black nitrile gloves and a black neck gaiter."

A 2001 black Ford F-150 with Washington plates was reported stolen from the home; the sheriff's office had asked the public to be on the lookout for the truck over the weekend. The stolen truck was later recovered in Monroe, a rural part of Benton County, Oregon, more than a hundred miles away. It had been damaged by fire that appeared to have been intentionally set to destroy evidence, CCSO said.

Later, CCSO reported a tip Sunday from someone who picked up his friend, Riley, in Monroe. After the friend arrived, they transferred multiple items into his truck, including two long guns; Riley set the truck on fire before they left the scene, the friend said. Riley then told the friend that he had been "hired to kill a woman and shot her five times with a .25 caliber handgun ... staging it to look like a burglary."

Detectives arrested Riley in Eugene. A Eugene Police Department official told KEZI 9 News that a SWAT team found Riley at a bus stop Sunday afternoon, and he was cooperative and taken into custody. James Rummell was also arrested after deputies served a second search warrant on the Rummell home.

Afterwards, CCSO searched the house, finding that the couple had "numerous accounts open with banks" and "payments due from various companies or loan statements." James had also received unemployment in 2023, according to the probable cause document. James later confirmed he had been changing jobs a lot recently and had received said unemployment.

When interviewed by police, James mentioned he had been out driving after his wife left for work and did not say where he was, but later in the interview, said he drove up to see Riley to support him, "as he was having a hard time." James said he had met Riley in prison while serving time after a robbery/kidnapping, and they remained in touch via phone, seeing each other last summer, according to court documents. James said they drove around, and he dropped off Riley "somewhere nearby in rural Hockinson," as he had evening plans.

When asked by police why he first omitted that information, James said "he thought it would look bad" that he had Riley "find his own way back to Eugene." He denied that he knew about the murder or of Riley's involvement, court documents said. 

On Monday, CCSO said investigators learned James was friends with Riley, and it appeared he had driven to Eugene, picked Riley up and brought him to Clark County on Friday. CCSO said he may have solicited Riley to stage an interrupted burglary event and murder Lindy Rummell.

Riley is being held on a Temporary Felony Warrant for Murder in the First Degree, and the Clark County Prosecutor's Office is preparing to seek his extradition to Washington. James was booked in Clark County Jail and has only been charged with Making False Statements to a Public Servant, but CCSO said he is additional charges are possible.

"We do consider him a suspect, as being involved in some type of conspiracy for murder for hire," CCSO Sergeant Chris Skidmore said about James.

James, as of March 28, has charges of being an accomplice to first-degree murder and accomplice to first-degree burglary.

The case is still an active investigation, the sheriff's office said.

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