Seattle judge releases accused killer 27 hours after 65-year-old military veteran stabbed to death

A judge in Washington state released a teen one day after his arrest for allegedly stabbing a 65-year-old veteran to death at a home.

On Friday, the Renton Police Department said 19-year-old K’Shawn Konscience Jimerson called 911 just after 2 p.m. and told the operator he had stabbed someone and would be standing “outside with the knife.” Jimerson also claimed self-defense during the call, police said. 

“The 911 caller said that they had stabbed the handyman inside the house,” Susan Hassinger of the Renton police told FOX 13 Seattle.

Witnesses told police they heard arguing and then saw Jimerson with a large butcher knife and covered in blood, FOX 13 reported. 

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A witness also claimed seeing 65-year-old handyman and veteran Michael Gray bleeding out and yelled for Jimerson to call 911. 

When officers arrived at the apartment, they discovered Gray with stab wounds to his side and back.  

Officers immediately rendered aid, but Gray died at the home, police said.

Officers also recovered the knife from a sink full of detergent, court records show. 

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Police said Jimerson remained on the scene and was detained. 

When law enforcement officers were asked if they objected to Jimerson’s release, they marked “yes” on a court form, stating, “Jimerson, who is 19, stabbed a 65-year-old man with a large knife during an argument.”

At his first court appearance, 27 hours after his arrest, Judge Michelle Gehlsen initially set bail at $50,000 despite finding probable cause for second-degree murder and the prosecutor asking for $2 million bail.

Police said Jimerson posted bail and has been released. 

The prosecutor has filed a motion to increase bail, and that hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Renton police told Fox News Digital. 

Detectives told FOX 13 surveillance video shows Jimerson chasing Gray down from behind and hitting him in the back of the head with a large wooden club, then striking him two more times in the head after he fell to the ground. 

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The video then shows Gray getting up and turning to interact with Jimerson, who runs off as both men enter the apartment out of view of the camera.

Jimerson recently moved back to Washington from Texas, where his mom lives, FOX 13 learned. 

Gray had been hired by Jimerson’s grandmother to do maintenance work and had spent a day and a half cleaning the walls inside the apartment before his death, FOX 13 reported. 

Gray lived with his roommates in a single-story home across the street from the duplex where he was killed, and they told FOX 13 he was a kind man who was always willing to lend a hand.

The roommates also revealed Gray was a military veteran. It was not immediately known what branch of the military Gray served in. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Kings County Prosecutor’s Office for comment but did not immediately get a response.