A King County judge found probable cause for first-degree murder.
COVINGTON, Wash. — A King County judge found probable cause for first-degree murder in a high-profile Covington homicide case in which a woman was found stabbed to death in her home under suspicious circumstances.
Kyle Cathcart made his first court appearance May 6 on suspicion of killing his wife at their home in Covington a few days earlier.
Cathcart’s case will be referred to the prosecutor’s office for a charging decision expected within the next few days. Bail arguments are scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Court documents released after Cathcart’s first appearance revealed new details about the incident.
On May 1, King County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a reported home invasion and fatal stabbing in the 25000 block of 186th Place Southeast in Covington.
Cathcart called 911 and told officers he and his wife, Jodi Cathcart, had been attacked by a home intruder. Deputies found Jodi Cathcart dead in a rear bedroom with multiple stab wounds. Kyle Cathcart sustained non-life-threatening injuries, including cuts and bruises.
According to court documents, Cathcart told detectives that around 6:15 a.m., he heard Jodi Cathcart yell his name twice before emerging from the en suite bathroom connected to the bedroom. He said he then saw a person in dark clothing stabbing her with a kitchen knife.
Cathcart told investigators he confronted the intruder, who “poked” him in the stomach with the knife before fleeing the room. Fearing for his children, Cathcart said he chased the person into a hallway but was knocked unconscious during a struggle. The 911 call was placed at 7:25 a.m.
Investigators reviewed Ring camera footage that showed a person in dark clothing leaving the home around 6:49 a.m., but no footage showed anyone entering the home. Detectives also noted the person’s build closely matched Cathcart’s, according to court documents.
Detectives found a zipped wallet covered in blood near the front door and a pool of blood near the garage door keypad. Investigators determined someone with knowledge of the garage code could have entered and exited the home without being detected by the Ring cameras.
Investigators also discovered a pile of bloody black clothing in a neighbor’s yard, including a sweatshirt belonging to Jodi Cathcart.
During an interview with detectives, Cathcart said the couple had two pending civil lawsuits with combined potential payouts totaling $61 million. One lawsuit, worth $6 million, was expected to pay out the day of the homicide.
According to court documents, Cathcart later confessed to killing Jodi Cathcart with a kitchen knife. Investigators said Cathcart told them he put on her clothes, stabbed her multiple times and then attempted to kill himself with the knife.
Detectives said Cathcart admitted he removed items from the victim’s wallet and fled through the front door to stage a burglary before re-entering through a rear door to avoid being recorded. He also admitted to smearing blood on the garage door and placing the knife in plain view in the hallway, according to investigators.
“The truth almost always comes out. There’s a lot of ways that people try to make stories and use their imagination to try to get people to believe things, but pretty early on investigators can find corroborating evidence to show what the truth is,” Casey McNerthney of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.
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