(courtesy KIRO 7 News July 19)

SEATTLE -- Police have arrested a suspect in the killing of radio host Mike Webb, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News has learned.

Scott White, 28, was previously described as a "person of interest" in the case, KIRO 7 first reported on July 5. Police said he was arrested without incident on Wednesday night.

Investigators had known about White for several weeks but learned of his location only on Wednesday. Assistant Chief Nick Metz said that during questioning at police headquarters, White admitted to killing Webb and hiding his body in the house he rented.

The body of the former KIRO radio talk host was found in a crawl space of his Queen Anne home on June 28. White has not been charged, but a bail hearing was set for Thursday afternoon.

White and Webb had apparently met in November and had lived together for a while. Metz would not discuss a possible motive, whether a weapon was found or other details. He said he did not have any details on White's criminal history or other details about his background. He would also not say whether investigators believe he acted alone or whether police are looking for other suspects.

The King County medical examiner's office said he died sometime after April 13, when he was last seen. The cause of death was listed as "multiple sharp force injuries," and the case was ruled a homicide.

The body was found by workers cleaning out the home. It was in the 3-foot crawl space, covered by boxes and a tarp.

Webb disappeared in April after he lost his job with KIRO radio because he was accused of insurance fraud.

According to the Seattle police missing persons report, Webb had been hanging out with a "shady character," and text messages were received from Webb’s phone for days after his disappearance.

Webb was fired by KIRO Radio in December 2005 shortly after he was charged with insurance fraud. Prosecutors said he filed a fraudulent insurance claim after a traffic accident in June 2005.

Webb was convicted of insurance fraud in February, sentenced to 240 hours of community service and fined $1,000.

Webb was killed with an ax
Suspect charged with murder



By CAROL SMITH
seattlepi.com
July 20th, 2007

Scott Brian White told radio talk-show host Mike Webb he was going out for a cigarette in the early morning hours of April 14.

Instead, he told police, he reached under the bed the two shared, grabbed a double-edged ax he had stored there earlier and bludgeoned to death the man who had given him shelter.

White, 28, was charged Friday with first-degree murder in Webb's death and is being held on $1 million bail.

The slaying, which is described in court documents released Friday, ended what appeared to be a relationship that started when Webb invited the young man to share his home. White was a drifter who had lived on the street for years and had a history of drug use, according to his father.

Webb, 52, met White in November 2006, and shortly after that, White moved into the home that Webb had rented for 14 years in a pleasant residential neighborhood on Queen Anne, he told police.

At the time, Webb worked as an Internet talk-show host. He drove a car loaned to him by one of the dealerships that advertised on his show. The car would become one of the keys in a trail linking White to Webb's death.

This past April, Webb called 911 to report that the loaned car had been stolen. White, who had missed picking Webb up from an appointment, was the last person known to drive the car. The incident apparently prompted Webb to mention to his friends that White had also taken money and other property from him.

White later admitted to Webb he'd taken the car and returned it, according to court documents.

A week later, on Friday, April 13, another friend of Webb's took the radio host to the dentist. Webb was scheduled to have oral surgery on Tuesday of the following week.

Webb did his normal broadcast that Friday evening, but on Sunday, he missed a prearranged appointment with his friend and technical support person, Bob Vesely.

Shortly after that, friends began receiving mysterious text messages sent from Webb's phone. They contained uncharacteristic misspellings, and were signed "Mike" -- something Webb was not known to do. Various messages mentioned Webb was leaving town, and some warned people not to come by the house, court documents say.

Thinking it strange that Webb would text instead of call, his friend Jane Bengtson went by his house just after midnight on April 20. She told police she was met by a "panicked white male, with long dreadlocks." She told police the man, who said he was at the house to see White and that Webb was not at home, seemed nervous and left immediately on foot. A few minutes later, Bengtson received a text message from Webb's phone berating her for coming to Webb's house uninvited.

Webb was eventually reported missing on May 14, after friends and family realized none had talked to or seen Webb.

A property manager and his workers found Webb's body June 28, stuffed in a crawl space, hidden behind boxes and bookshelves. An ax was found near the body, according to the charging papers.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Webb had suffered stab wounds to the chest, neck and shoulder in addition to five "lengthy lacerations" across his face consistent with ax blows.

In addition to a blood-soaked mattress and blood spatter in the master bedroom, detectives found a gouge in the ceiling "that would be consistent with damage left by an ax." The Seattle Police Department's latent print lab recovered White's bloody fingerprint from a dustpan believed to have been used to clean up the scene.

White pawned several electronic items, including a Hewlett-Packard laptop owned by Webb. He also began using a government-issued credit card belonging to Webb. The card, known as an EBT card, is a means of issuing food stamps and other benefits. Video cameras at various stores captured White using the card.

On Wednesday, detectives, acting on a tip, found White at a transient camp in Trolley Hill Park on Queen Anne Hill .

White initially told police that he had left Webb's house after returning the car to him, then returned a few days later to discover Webb missing. White said he stayed at Webb's house several more weeks.

Confronted with evidence the police had gathered, White admitted killing Webb, then posing as Webb in text messages and e-mails. He also admitted he had tried to use Webb's other credit cards, but could not get them to work.



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P-I reporter Carol Smith can be reached at 206-448-8070 or carolsmith@seattlepi.com.

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