On August 13, 2014 an off-duty federal agent found a fire burning in the woods along Peasley Canyon Road in Auburn. The agent discovered blood-soaked carpeting, towels and flooring being burned; a man near the blaze fled in a dark SUV as the agent approached. DNA testing later confirmed the blood came from 30-year-old Brandon Shane Zomalt of Puyallup.

Zomalt’s family had not heard from him for weeks. A welfare check at a South Hill home in the 13000 block of Military Road East on September 1 revealed his severely decomposed body in the garage. The Pierce County Medical Examiner determined Zomalt died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso. Flooring and carpet missing from that residence matched the charred items found at the Auburn scene.

Investigators focused on Zomalt’s roommate, 34-year-old Michael Clifford Boisselle. The SUV seen leaving the fire scene was registered to Boisselle’s mother, and witnesses reported Boisselle saying he had shot Zomalt and would be leaving the area. A warrant was issued and Boisselle was charged; he was later convicted and then had his case return to court, after which he pleaded guilty to lesser charges related to Zomalt’s death.

Did anyone in the South Hill or Auburn area see a dark SUV near Peasley Canyon Road around August 13, 2014?