Bellingham police arrest man suspected in the murder of a woman in downtown apartment
The Bellingham Police Department announced Sunday that they have arrested a man suspected in the murder of a woman in the stairwell of the 22 North apartment complex in downtown.
Shilo A. Englert, 33, was booked into Whatcom County Jail at 1:40 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Englert was arrested by the Bellingham Police Department’s SWAT team Sunday morning in the 1400 block of Moore Street after police received a credible tip of where he was hiding, according to a department news release Sunday afternoon. The SWAT team reportedly had Englert in custody within an hour of arriving on the scene.
Englert was wanted for the murder of Kasandra Booker, 31, after her body was found Feb. 8 in a first-floor stairwell at 22 North, a 40-unit apartment complex on North State Street for young adults experiencing homelessness operated by the Opportunity Council and Northwest Youth Services.
Booker was found with a gunshot wound to her head, and one bullet of unknown caliber was found at the scene, though no handgun was located, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents..
Englert managed to avoid capture nearly 10 hours earlier, after police were tipped to his location at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the release. But Englert was reportedly alerted to police presence, and he was able to escape the area on foot. A K9 track in that area was unsuccessful.
But police received additional information later in the morning that Englert was hiding at the location on Moore Street and set up a perimeter until the SWAT team arrived, according to the release.
Once SWAT arrived, the team began calling for Englert to come out and surrender peacefully, according to the release, but they got no response.
The SWAT team used “noise distraction devices” to get Englert’s attention, according to the release, but he continued to ignore commands. Police announced that they would send chemical irritants into the building where Englert was hiding, but it wasn’t until they did so that Englert emerged and was taken into custody without further incident, according to the release.
After the arrest, crime scene investigators remained to search for any evidence left behind, according to the release, which added that Englert will make his first appearance in Whatcom County Superior Court next week.
Woman’s body found
Police were called to 22 North at 9:29 p.m. Feb. 8 after Booker’s body was found in the stairwell, according to court documents.
Detectives reviewed surveillance video, according to court documents, and found:
▪ At 8:25 p.m., a man, later identified as Englert, arrived at the building in a beige Lexus sedan with distinctive body damage to the hood. Englert parked in a spot in front of the building, got out of the Lexus and spoke to Booker on the sidewalk in front of 22 North.
▪ At 8:28 p.m. an unidentified woman who was inside the Lexus got out, and Englert physically assaulted Booker, putting her in a headlock and punching her several times. The unidentified woman got back into the front passenger seat of the Lexus.
▪ At 8:34 p.m. Englert, Booker and a female witness entered the first-floor stairwell at 22 North. The witness later told police that she, Englert and Booker smoked “blues” (or fentanyl pills) and that Englert began consoling and hugging Booker.
▪ At 8:42 p.m. the witness left the stairwell, leaving Englert and Booker alone. The witness said she left because she believed Englert and Booker were going to be intimate.
▪ At 8:53 p.m. Booker exited the stairwell and walked toward the front door, where she was seen raising her hands up and down and appearing to look in the direction of the Lexus. Booker then went back into the stairwell, and nobody else was seen entering it after her.
▪ At 9:18 p.m. Englert walked to the second-floor landing and exited into the alley behind the building. Englert was seen with his hands in his pockets and using his sleeve to cover his hand to operate the door’s push bar in what police believe was an attempt to keep from leaving fingerprints or DNA at the scene. Englert then walked the alley to East Laurel Street, then walked west and north again along North State Street, before getting into the Lexus and driving away from 22 North.
▪ At 9:28 p.m., the 911 caller entered the stairwell, found Booker’s body and called 911.
A Lexus matching the one seen on surveillance video was spotted at 3 p.m. Feb. 9 in the 1400 block of Moore Street parked near an apartment building Englert last reported living in following a Jan. 18 arrest in another incident.
Several law enforcement agents who had previous interactions with Englert identified him from the surveillance video stills, documents state.
Charges were filed and a warrant was issued for Englert’s arrest on Feb. 11, and a day later the Bellingham Police Department issued a release asking for the public’s help in finding him.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Englert was already facing charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, obstructing law enforcement and hit and run from a Jan. 18 incident, in which he reportedly drove a stolen car over a retaining wall and then ran away.
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 4:21 PM.
