KENT, Wash. (TCN) — A suspect is in custody four years after the disappearance and presumed death of 36-year-old Austin Leming, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as Brian Mares, 46. He was arrested Nov. 17 and charged with second-degree murder, according to the Kent Reporter. Charging documents allege Mares killed Leming after an argument in December 2021 and tried to destroy the evidence.
Leming’s mother reported him missing after he stopped answering her phone calls in late 2021. Detectives later learned he had been staying at Mares’ apartment, the last place his cellphone location displayed.
A search warrant executed at the apartment found blood spatter on surfaces in every room, and forensic testing confirmed it matched Leming’s blood, according to the Kent Reporter.
Mares was initially arrested and booked on a felony warrant on Dec. 23, 2021, but jail records indicate he was released on Jan. 7, 2022, according to the Kent Reporter. During his interviews with authorities after this initial arrest, Mares had allegedly confirmed he was addicted to fentanyl and that he had been shot on the arm and torso but did not seek medical attention.
KIRO reports witnesses said at the time Leming went missing, he was in possession of a large quantity of drugs, including 5,000 fentanyl pills. Other witnesses allege they saw torn-up floorboards at Mares’ home and that Mares had claimed he had been robbed. One witness claims to have seen blood and tissue on an electric saw in the sink.
The four-year investigation included interviews with acquaintances and retracing Leming’s travels, KOMO reports.
In the charging documents obtained by the Kent Reporter and KIRO, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jason Brookhyser said, “It has taken investigators this long to build this case and confirm this evidence precisely because of the extraordinary and terrifying lengths the defendant went to in his efforts to destroy evidence that he murdered the victim.”
Brookhyser also said Mares claimed that he had dismembered Leming’s remains to dispose of them.
A judge set bail at $5 million and Mares remains in custody. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 24.
Leming’s remains have never been located.
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