Bothell police are now considering the husband of a murdered Bothell woman a suspect in her death.
Shortly after police found Susann Smith’s body in February, detectives named her estranged husband Alan Justin Smith a person of interest in her death.
“As of today, our investigators said he was changed from a person of interest to a suspect,” said Bothell Sgt. Cedric Collins. He noted that the status change had nothing to do with Smith’s arrest this morning, when he refused to turn over his passport to police after they served him a search warrant.
He said investigators have “mulled over” the change the last few days.
“They have some information as far as the investigation that leads them to believe that he may be involved with the crime,” added Collins.
He said police expect to book Alan Smith into Snohomish County Jail on obstruction charges.
Susann Smith, 37, was found murdered in the home in February with defensive wounds on her hands and arms, a fractured skull, 19 separate blunt force strikes and stab wounds to her face and hands, court documents state. She had to be identified by her dental records.
Witness interviews illustrate Alan Smith’s frustration with the couple’s custody battle. Susann Smith had threatened to move back to Germany and take the kids, according to court records.
Bothell police found Susann Smith’s body in the bathtub of her unlocked home with no signs of sexual assault.
Her body was found after her employer, Z2Live, reported that she had not showed up for work.
DNA from the murder scene, along with DNA from a bicycle connected to the crime and matching Alan Smith’s credit card records were taken for testing.
Alan Smith also was reported to have inconsistencies and lied to police during questioning, according to initial search warrant documents. He had searches on his work computer for a flight from Seattle to Simon Bolivar Airport in Venezuela for one adult and two children and did a search for “will Venezuela extradite to the U.S.,” the search warrant documents continue.
He had also discussed how to kill his ex-wife with an ex-girlfriend, she told police in search warrant documents.
Alan Smith moved back into the home in May and has told neighbors that he plans to get his children back, who are being held by Washington State Child Protective services.
Police have been called to the house a total of four times since May 16. The most recent call occurred June 17 when neighbors heard a scream come from the residence. When police arrived they found Alan Smith and his girlfriend in the nude having sex in the front yard of the home. Police warned them of indecent exposure.
