Bail set at $1 million for Bellingham woman, as documents show details of suspected murder
Court documents show the Bellingham woman arrested on suspicion of murder knew the man she is suspected of shooting and leaving in a park on the Semiahmoo Spit last week and that her mental health had “changed over the past 12 months.”
Lynda Clare Mercy, 62, had her bail set at $1 million by Whatcom County Superior Court Commissioner Leon Henley during her first appearance in court Wednesday, April 14, one day after the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested her on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Mercy appeared in court one week to the day after deputies were called at 2 p.m. April 7 to the 9200 block of Semiahmoo Parkway for the report of a man’s body being found. They located 67-year-old Thomas Flood, a transient man from Langley, covered in blankets on a trail near the parking lot of a Whatcom County park, according to court documents obtained by The Bellingham Herald.
Flood was found with two bullet wounds to his torso, according to the documents, which the Whatcom County medical examiner identified as being larger than a .22.
Flood had no identification on him, documents state, but law enforcement was able to identify him through his driver’s license photo and fingerprints and also linked him to a 1994 Ford Econoline van.
Friends confirmed Flood lived in the van, often near the Keystone ferry terminal in Langley on Whidbey Island, court documents state.
Law enforcement traced Flood’s phone and found the van parked at the Hillcrest Chapel in Fairhaven at approximately 4:45 a.m. April 8. A witness contacted the sheriff’s office and reported seeing a person, later identified as Mercy, wearing dark clothing and carrying a multi-colored bag exit the van at approximately 4:30 p.m. April 7 and walk toward the Fairhaven Haggen, according to documents.
A large pool of what was believed to be blood was found on the floorboard of the van, documents state.
By tracking his phone and using cameras in Bellingham, law enforcement was able to locate the van and video that showed Mercy making stops at a Fairhaven credit union, a convenience store and at the Hillcrest Chapel, according to court documents. Video also showed Mercy enter a nearby apartment complex and take an elevator.
The sheriff’s office released photos of Mercy at the convenience store to the public on Monday, April 12, and received three tips that identified Mercy as the person law enforcement was seeking, documents state.
A sheriff’s office news release Tuesday stated that Mercy was arrested without incident.
Also according to court documents:
▪ Mercy was seen using a light blue walking stick in one of the videos, and a similar walking stick was found in Flood’s van.
▪ Mercy bought a High Point .40 caliber pistol in December of 2020. During that same month, she posted a photograph of a box of Sellier & Bellot ammunition on her Instagram account. Detectives found a Sellier & Bellot .40 caliber casing at a site where Flood often slept at night in Langley.
▪ A restaurant owner in Langley near where Flood often slept told law enforcement the restaurant had video of Flood arguing with a woman at approximately 1 a.m. Tuesday, April 6. A photo of Mercy was sent to the restaurant owner, who identified Mercy as the person Flood was arguing with.
▪ Mercy was seen in the Blaine Municipal Court shortly after Flood’s body was found on Semiahmoo Spit.
▪ A search of Mercy’s apartment revealed a multi-colored bag, clothing that matched what she was seen wearing on video when she got out of the van and a tracing of a .40 caliber pistol on her wall. The search also found a dark jacket that had a red substance, believed to be blood on it, along with hair and fibers that will be analyzed for DNA by the Washington State Patrol crime lab.
▪ Law enforcement found a distinct white cloth mask at the scene where Flood’s body was found, and a similar mask was found in Mercy’s possession when she was arrested.
▪ A Bellingham Police Department detective, who has checked on Mercy several times due to her HUD housing status, said Mercy’s mental health status has “changed over the last 12 months” and that in January he responded to her apartment after several neighbors reported she was not acting like herself. The neighbors also stated Mercy was becoming “more aggressive in her body language as well as verbal insults. Some are a bit scared of her when she acts in this manner.”
▪ Searches of Mercy’s social media accounts by law enforcement reportedly suggested a fascination with violence and showed images or videos of her slashing the air with knives and meat cleavers. Mercy was also photographed wearing what looked like a bloody shirt with a box of Sellier & Bellot ammunition in her lap.
▪ On Wednesday, a friend turned over Mercy’s High Point .40 caliber pistol, which Mercy reportedly asked her to hold two days earlier. The serial number matched the pistol she purchased in December.
Mercy previously lived in Blaine, Spokane, Arizona and California.
She appeared in Blaine Municipal Court in May of 2020, according to Washington state court records. She pleaded guilty to hit and run of an attended vehicle and had a DUI charge reduced to first-degree negligent driving, court officials told The Bellingham Herald, adding that the case is still active on probation.
Mercy was the respondent in an anti-harassment petition filed in Whatcom County District Court in January of 2013, court records show. A hearing was granted, but neither Mercy nor the complainant appeared for it, court officials told The Herald, and the case was dismissed.
Mercy also appeared in Snohomish County Cascade Division District Court in 2006 and pleaded guilty to a charge of no valid permit, paid a fine and the case was dismissed, court officials told The Herald.
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 4:23 PM.
