Brother’s abuse reportedly led Seattle man to kill him during Whatcom County pit stop
A Seattle man told Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies that he shot and killed his brother because he “had had enough” of his brother berating and abusing him during a trip back from Republic.
John Roper Thomson, 40, was booked Monday, Aug. 8, into Whatcom County Jail after he reportedly killed his brother, 69-year-old Robert Thomson near the western end of Diablo Lake in the North Cascades National Park.
The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged John Thomson Thursday, Aug. 11, with first-degree murder (domestic violence) and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.
As previously reported, at approximately 4 a.m. Monday, North Cascades National Park rangers responded to an area along State Route 20 at milepost 128, east of Newhalem and near the western end of Diablo Lake, for the report of a single shot followed by a rapid succession of more shots, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
The rangers arrived at approximately 4:45 a.m. and found John Thomson sitting in a vehicle in the area, according to the release.
John Thomson told the rangers that he did not hear any shots, prompting the rangers to continue to check further along State Route 20, the release states.
While returning to Newhalem, the rangers noticed a large amount of blood along the guardrail in the turnout where they had spoken to John Thomson, according to the release. In addition, they found bullet holes in the guardrail.
The rangers looked down the steep embankment beyond the guardrail and found Robert Thomson’s body, the release states.
Still in the white Acura rangers had spoken to him in earlier, John Thomson was located parked in a gravel lot on the north side of Newhalem, approximately 7.8 miles from where Robert Thomson’s body was found, charging documents obtained by The Bellingham Herald on Thursday showed.
John Thomson was arrested by rangers and read his Miranda rights. The buttstock of an AR-15-style rifle could be seen through the windows of the Acura, which was registered to Robert Thomson, documents state.
Sheriff’s detectives arrived in Newhalem and spoke to John Thomson, according to documents, though he initially stated he did not know why he was there and asked if it was for stealing his brother’s car.
Then, documents state, John Thomson blurted out “I (expletive) shot him,” “I (expletive) shot him 20 times with an AR-15,” and “he’s (expletive) dead,” according to documents.
“John said he threw his brother over the guardrail where he would rot and never be found,” documents state.
John Thomson went on to say that he and Robert Thomson had gone to a cabin in Republic so that John Thomson could detox from heroin and alcohol, and that Robert Thomson had been beating him and belittling him while they were driving back, according to documents. John Thomson added that it had been that way most of his life.
John Thomson said that his brother had stopped along the road several times to beat and pepper spray him, and that they had stopped at the turnout near Diablo Lake so that they could urinate, according to documents.
John Thomson said his brother continued to berate him, documents state, and it was then that John Thomson took his AR-15 from the back seat of the Acura and shot Robert Thomson in the back of the head from approximately 6 feet away. John Thomson said he then shot Robert Thomson in the face from about 5 feet away because he was still breathing.
John Thomson said he then threw Robert Thomson over the embankment, according to documents, and he stated that he shot his brother several more times.
John Thomson admitted to thinking about shooting his brother since the pair had left Republic and that he had his .38 revolver between his legs during the entire trip, according to documents.
“When they stopped to urinate, John admitted that he had had enough when he decided to shoot Robert,” documents state.
