Bail set at $250,000 for mother, son accused of helping cover up Randle homicide

A judge has ordered the mother and son accused of helping Jonathon Adamson and Benito Marquez cover up the death of Randle teen Benjamin Eastman III last year be held in the Lewis County Jail on $250,000 bail.

Salazar and Hagerty appeared in Lewis County Superior Court Monday for preliminary appearances. According to court documents, Salazar knew Marquez and Adamson had plans to kill Eastman after they spoke of their intentions during a camping trip on June 24, 2018. When another individual later tried to tell an adult about the plan, Salazar allegedly held her down and prevented her from doing so.

Deputies interviewed the person Salazar allegedly restrained, according to court documents which indicate she said: “I tell Michael I’m like are they gonna kill him and everything like that and then he tells me no and then I try and get up and go and he just sits on me so I can’t, like I couldn’t get up and he was just like you need to calm down, you need to go to sleep, it’s fine.”

Documents say Salazar later allegedly helped Adamson and Marquez start a fire to burn evidence of the killing and assisted them in cleaning themselves of any evidence.

In an interview with Lewis County deputies, Salazar said he heard the pair talking about luring Eastman from his house, and was under the impression that they would, at least, assault him.

Detectives interviewed Adamson after he pleaded guilty to murder and other crimes, and he indicated that he likely would not have followed through on a plan to kill Eastman had another adult confronted him about the plan.

Salazar was charged with first-degree murder or in the alternative second-degree murder. Court documents read: “To commit this crime, the defendant acted as a principal and/or an accomplice of another person in the commission of the crime; contrary to Revised Code of Washington 9A.08.020(2)©.”

Documents also read: “At the time of the offense, the defendant was 16 years of age. The crime of murder is … classified as a serious violent offense under Washington law. As a result, jurisdiction is vested in the Superior Court.”

He was also charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance and tampering with physical evidence.

Hagerty was charged with two counts of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. She is accused of helping Adamson and Marquez plan a false story to tell law enforcement as they investigated Eastman’s disappearance. “In addition, the defendant alerted the family as to the discovery of (Eastman’s) body, allowing the murder suspects to flee the area before being contacted by law enforcement,” read court documents.