Woman testifies in plea bargain

By Jeremy Pawloski | The Olympian • Published June 10, 2008

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April Frazier implicated two men in Jerry Totten's strangulation homicide during her testimony in their joint murder trial Monday, stating that she was in another room listening to satellite radio on her cell phone and could hear only moaning — presumably as the murder took place.

Christopher Olsen, 27, and Frazier's ex-boyfriend, Michael Sublett, 48, are on trial for murder in connection with Totten's death in his Tumwater home in January 2007.

Frazier, 28, has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and other charges in connection with Totten's homicide in exchange for her testimony against Sublett and Olsen. In return, prosecutors will recommend that she receive a prison sentence of four years and five months.

In the days after Totten's homicide, Frazier said Sublett told her that "he had to finish the job," of killing Totten, 69.

"Did he say how he finished it?" asked Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Bruneau.

"No," Frazier responded. "I had told him on a few occasions that I didn't want to know the details."

One possible motive

Frazier had lived in a trailer in the yard on Totten's I Street property for months before his homicide. She said the theft of Totten's possessions — including his rare coin collections and his checkbooks so that Sublett could access Totten's bank accounts — was one motive for Totten's homicide.

Jealousy was another, Frazier said during her testimony Monday.

"Jerry was very generous to me, and I believe it was intimidating and made Michael jealous," Frazier said.

Frazier also said Olsen, whom Sublett had bailed out of jail before Totten's death, told her afterward he participated in the homicide.

Frazier testified that Olsen told her after the homicide that "he enjoyed what he did and he would do it again."

But during cross-examination, Sublett's attorney, Charles Lane, pointed out that Frazier gave a seemingly contradictory statement that after Totten's homicide, Olsen went under a table and started crying. Frazier responded to Lane's query that Olsen did both.

Frazier told Lane she could not remember discussing during phone conversations with Olsen while he was in jail that she and Sublett had jobs lined up for him.

Frazier testified that she lied to a friend, Elsie Pray-Hicks, when Frazier initially told her that Sublett participated in Totten's killing because Totten was a child molester and possessed child pornography. Frazier admitted to Bruneau on Monday that this was a lie and she told that lie because "I was trying to protect Michael," and "I was high on methamphetamine."

Lane questioned Frazier about other inconsistencies in her account of Totten's homicide to Pray-Hicks.

After Frazier testified that bruises on her arms in the days after Totten's homicide were caused by domestic violence at Sublett's hands, Lane suggested the bruises were in fact caused during her active participation in Totten's murder.

"(Those) were actually bruises that you got struggling with Jerry when you were trying to kill him right?," Lane asked Frazier.

Frazier responded that they were not.

Olsen's attorney, Richard Woodrow, will begin his cross-examination of Frazier this morning.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.