MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - An Oregon man was charged Wednesday in the murder of a Ferndale, Wash. high school teacher and coach found dead on Blanchard Mountain last year.
Ken McBride, 34, was arrested at his Lebanon, Ore. home and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jeremy Scully.
Investigators had McBride in their sights from the very beginning. The day Scully disappeared, he was headed to McBride's home to help do some work on the roof.
Scully's car was found abandoned near Lake Samish in late April 2008. The door was ajar and the keys were in the ignition. His body was found the next day on Blanchard Mountain.
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"Every evidentiary step we took came back to Ken McBride," said Skagit County Sheriff's Office chief Will Reichardt. "We believe without a doubt he's the person guilty of this."
Scully was a popular track coach at Ferndale High School. Outwardly, he seemed like the All-American sort of guy, but investigators say he was also involved in the swinger lifestyle.
Police say Scully was a member of the adult Web site Adultfriendfinder.com for swingers and others seeking sexual partners. Detectives looked into his activities there to see if there was a connection to his murder.
Investigators say Scully had a relationship with McBride's wife, Vanessa. The couple were living in Alger at the time. Witnesses say shortly before Scully's murder, Ken McBride became jealous.
A forensic search of Ken McBride's computer revealed he had become jealous, fearing his wife had fallen in love with Scully.
Two weeks before Scully's body was found, investigators say the McBrides and Scully went to a swingers party in Portland. Witnesses say McBride was glaring at Scully during the event.
Less than a month after the investigation began, detectives learned Vanessa was pregnant. They also learned that Ken McBride had a vasectomy years earlier.
On January 14, 2009, Vanessa gave birth to a little boy. That means she would have gotten pregnant around the same time as the party.
Police searched McBride's Alger home several times during the investigation. Detectives say they don't believe Vanessa was involved in Scully's murder, but do say that chat logs from McBride's computer indicate she suspected her husband fairly early.
Detectives had a solid motive for murder, and had found the same ammunition in McBrides' Burlington home that was used to kill Jeremy Scully.
Robbin Goldsby, Scully's girlfriend, says she met the McBrides at the police station last year after Scully was reported missing. She said Venessa McBride seemed very worried about Scully's disappearance, but Ken McBride didn't seem concerned at all. Goldsby says she's very sorry for the baby boy, especially since Scully talked often of wanting to have children.
KING 5's Elisa Hahn contributed to this report.
