Jillian Whitney Van Boven was 18 when she died on August 9, 2024. A recent high school graduate planning a gap year to travel and study forensics and large animal veterinary science, she was described as adventurous and connected to the outdoors, often swimming in the Skagit River and hiking barefoot in the mountains.

Firefighters responding to a blaze at a two-story A-frame cabin off State Route 530, south of Rockport near Concrete, later found the burned remains of three people inside. The victims were identified as Jillian, her 19-year-old boyfriend Taylor Dawson, and Taylor’s 52-year-old mother Erin Birman. The Skagit County Coroner’s Office determined all three suffered gunshot wounds that contributed to their deaths before the fire was set; authorities ruled the incident a triple homicide.

Investigators identified 49-year-old Jason M. Birman, Erin Birman’s husband and Taylor’s stepfather, as a suspect. A warrant was issued charging him with three counts of second-degree murder; he has been missing since the day of the fire and his 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck is also unaccounted for. Anyone with information about Jillian or the case is asked to come forward.