Washington mom, 2 sons arrested in connection with her missing husband’s death
02/14/2022 3:49 pm PST
STEVENS COUNTY, Wash. (TCD) -- A mother and two of her children were arrested in Arizona two months after her husband’s body was found buried on their property.
According to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, on Sept. 27, 2021, 55-year-old Brenda Rasmussen reported her husband Jerry Rasmussen missing. Brenda reportedly told the Sheriff’s Office that Jerry, 65, left the home "several weeks prior and had not been heard from." She said they had been arguing and "had been known to leave and be gone for extended periods in the past."
Deputies reportedly "became suspicious of the circumstances" following her missing person report and asked the Detective Unit to investigate. During their "extensive investigation," detectives named Brenda and her sons, 34-year-old Danny Jones and 31-year-old Andrew Jones, as persons of interest in his disappearance and possible homicide. Danny lived at the home in Stevens County, while Andrew resided in Bullhead City, Arizona.
On Nov. 11, detectives obtained a search warrant and went to Brenda and Jerry’s property with cadaver dogs, according to the Sheriff’s Office statement. The cadaver dogs reportedly "indicated the presence of odor of human remains" emanating from a new storage shed. Detectives also gathered evidence from inside the house. Brenda and Danny were reportedly not there.
After obtaining another search warrant, on Dec. 1, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office worked with a shed transport company and a rented excavator to search underneath the shed. Investigators located human remains, which were later identified as Jerry’s. He reportedly died from a gunshot wound to the head. KREM-TV reports there was an "overwhelming" scent of decomposition, and investigators believe he had been buried for three months.
The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona and the U.S. Marshals to track down Brenda and her two sons. The three were arrested in Fort Mohave and are being held in Mohave County Jail without bond as they await extradition to Washington.
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