Someone anonymously posted grisly photos of what appeared to be the Port Orchard murder scene on an image-sharing website, before police even arrived to investigate. The Kitsap County Coroner said that Coplin died of ligature strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head.
Surrendered ... David Kalac turned himself in to police after allegedly killing his girlfriend and posting photos of her body to 4Chan. Picture: APSource:Supplied
A 33-year-old man accused of murder in the slaying of his girlfriend in Washington state, posting photos of her body online, and writing that he wanted authorities to kill him has peacefully surrendered in Oregon.
Clackamas County sheriff’s Sgt. Nate Thompson said David Kalac was arrested at a transit centre in Wilsonville, about 32 kilometres south of Portland.
Kalac has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Amber Lynn Coplin, 30, in Port Orchard, Washington.
He was transported to Portland, where he was being held on $US2 million bail.
Kalac has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Amber Lynn Coplin, 30, in Port Orchard, Washington. He was transported to Portland, where he was being held on $US2 million bail. An officer was patrolling the area when a man came out of a wooded area near a parking lot. PORT ORCHARD — At one point Amber Coplin believed in David Kalac, so much that she tried to take the blame for a 2012 drunken driving crash where he was behind the wheel. After bailing him out. Kalac has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Amber Lynn Coplin, 30, in Port Orchard, Washington. He was transported to Portland, where he was being held on $US2 million bail. An officer was patrolling the area when a man came out of a wooded area near a parking lot.
An officer was patrolling the area when a man came out of a wooded area near a parking lot.
“He basically said, ‘I have a warrant for my arrest,’” Thompson said.
Kalac was cooperative but provided no details about how he got to Wilsonville, the spokesman said.
Amber Coplin was murdered. Her 13 yo son found her, called his dad and 911. He's with other relatives now. pic.twitter.com/MmAY4BYj0Z
— Alison Grande (@AlisonKIRO7) November 5, 2014
Washington state detectives have arrived in Portland and hoped to interview him, as well as take possession of the dead woman’s car, a 2001 Ford Focus that was found Wednesday afternoon in Portland, about 260 kilometres south of the crime scene.
Portland police briefly chased the car early Wednesday.
Kalac has a criminal history in Washington state and Virginia that includes convictions for assault, burglary and DUI, Kitsap County, Washington, sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wilson said.
Deputies have confirmed that gruesome photos posted on 4Chan are of the victim and the Port Orchard crime scene, Wilson said.
The person who posted the photos commented online on how the woman was killed and wrote of planning to be fatally shot by police.
Sickening ... A screengrab of the online post that police say Kalac made after murdering Amber Coplin and leaving her body for her 13-year-old son to find. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“He’s our primary suspect,” Wilson said Wednesday. “It stands to reason that in all likelihood he is the person who posted those photographs.”
Coplin’s body was found by her 13-year-old son, Wilson said.
Hours earlier, the boy had heard her arguing with Kalac, detectives said in court papers. An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday.
Police say they found Coplin’s body in a bedroom.
Near her head was her driver’s license with the word “dead” written on it. The words “bad news” were written on blinds. And the words “she killed me first” were written on a picture on the wall.
Amber Coplin Dead Body
Coplin’s son told police that his mother and Kalac argued loudly Monday night, court records show.
Witnesses also said they heard what sounded like a violent argument and loud thumping and banging noises coming from the apartment in the city west of Seattle across Puget Sound.
The teenager told police he thought his mom was sleeping in and Kalac was gone when he left the apartment Tuesday morning, according to court documents.
David Kalac in custody in Wilsonville. Detained without incident and Cooperative pic.twitter.com/EvZPu28oJL
— Wilsonville Police (@WilsonvillePD) November 6, 2014According to Wilson’s account, the boy came home from school Tuesday morning and took a nap.
When he woke up that afternoon, he noticed the car was missing, went to check on his mother and “found her unresponsive,” Wilson said.
At that point, the teen called his father, who is Coplin’s estranged husband.
The man came over, found the body about 3:30pm. Tuesday and called 911, the sheriff’s spokesman said.
The caller reported that Coplin’s face was bashed in, her car was missing and she was bloody and bruised, court documents show.
Kalac texted a friend from his cellphone on Tuesday morning telling the friend that he would read about him in the news.
Wilson said at some point Kalac took Coplin’s car and made the three-hour drive to Portland, where a police officer spotted the vehicle about 1:15am. Wednesday local time.
Wilson said investigators believe he is the sole suspect in Coplin’s death and they are not looking for any accomplices.
The officer tried to stop the driver early Wednesday, but the car sped away. The chase was called off because the car was swerving into oncoming traffic.
A man surrendered in Oregon after police say he killed his girlfriend, posted gruesome photos of her body and the crime scene online, and wrote that he wanted authorities to kill him.
David Kalac's arrest Wednesday night nearly 320 kilometres from the crime scene in Washington state came after a daylong manhunt. He's accused of killing Amber Lynn Coplin, whose teenage son heard the couple loudly arguing and then found his mother dead in their apartment.
Kalac, 33, texted a friend Tuesday morning to say he would read about Kalac in the news, then evaded police in the woman's stolen car until he emerged from a wooded area and turned himself in to a passing police officer, authorities said.
Sole suspect
Authorities confirmed the grisly online photos were of Coplin, 30, and the crime scene in Port Orchard, Wash., said Scott Wilson, a Kitsap County sheriff's deputy.
The images appeared on 4chan, an online bulletin board whose free-wheeling and anonymous nature has led to some of the web's darker moments. Earlier this year, hundreds of private pictures of nude celebrities were posted on the site.
Kalac is the sole suspect, so investigators believe he shared the photos, commented online about how the woman was killed and wrote of planning to be fatally shot by police, Wilson said.
The suspect on Wednesday gave himself up to an officer patrolling the area around a transit centre in Wilsonville, Ore., about 32 kilometres south of Portland.
'He basically said, 'I have a warrant for my arrest,' Clackamas County sheriff's Sgt. Nate Thompson said in a telephone interview. Kalac was co-operative but provided no details about how he got to Wilsonville, the spokesman said.
Body found by son
Kalac was charged with second-degree murder and was held in Portland on $2-million bail.
Washington state detectives aim to interview him and pick up the slain woman's car, a 2001 Ford Focus found Wednesday afternoon in Portland, about 257 kilometres south of the crime scene.
Wilson said he expected an autopsy of Coplin's body to be conducted Thursday.
Police say they found her in a bedroom Tuesday after her 13-year-old son discovered his mother dead that day. Near her head was her driver's licence with the word 'dead' written on it. 'Bad news' was written on blinds. And the words 'she killed me first' were scrawled on a picture on the wall.
Coplin's son told police that his mother and Kalac argued loudly Monday night, court records show. Witnesses also said they heard what sounded like a violent argument and loud thumping and banging noises coming from the apartment in the city west of Seattle across Puget Sound.
Amber Coplin Death
The teenager told police he thought his mom was sleeping in and Kalac was gone when he left the apartment Tuesday morning, court documents say.
The boy came home from school and took a nap. When he woke up that afternoon, he noticed the car was missing, went to check on his mother and 'found her unresponsive,' the deputy said.
At that point, the teen called his father — Coplin's estranged husband. The man came over, saw the body about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and called 911, Wilson said.