Roommate arrested in death

BOTHELL, Wash. – Investigators found more than a dead body when they checked on a report of a fatal stabbing at a house in this suburb northeast of Seattle. They also found signs pointing to a marijuana growing operation.

Bail was set at $1 million Thursday in Everett District Court on William Douglas Lance, 44, hours after he was arrested for investigation in the death of his roommate.

A woman who knows a friend of the roommates told Lake Stevens police on Tuesday that someone might have been killed at the house, according to documents filed in court. Snohomish County sheriff’s Deputy Rich Niebusch said Lance was arrested about 1:15 a.m. Thursday when deputies arrived to begin a search.

Investigators initially found blood in the roommate’s bedroom and bloody rags in a garbage can outside, but the body was not discovered behind the house until that afternoon, investigators wrote. An autopsy was pending.

During the search, deputies also found evidence indicating marijuana had been grown in the house, indicating that those who knew of the killing might have delayed reporting it while the illegal drug was removed, authorities said.

Two people told detectives they saw the roommate lying dead in the house Monday, while a woman said she saw the man alive Sunday night. People who know the roommates told detectives the two men might have been arguing over pills, according to court papers.

Investigators said Lance claimed he was acting in self-defense during the quarrel and thought his roommate was still alive when he took him outside.

“He said he covered him up and that he thought the air would be good for him,” investigators wrote.