Seattle, Washington – A 25-year-old man from Washington state is facing charges of premeditated murder after allegedly brutally killing a homeless man with an ax in Seattle.
Liam Harrison Kryger, the accused, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge for the slaying of 52-year-old Daravuth Van, whose body was found outside Seattle’s Town Hall building in the city’s First Hill neighborhood. The victim was discovered dead around 5 a.m. by a passerby, triggering a police investigation.
According to court documents, the victim had been sleeping when he was fatally struck in the head with a sharp blunt force object. The King County Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was due to a fractured skull and penetration of the brain.
Video evidence obtained by the police from nearby businesses and apartment complexes captured the chilling moment of the killing. The footage shows Kryger circling the victim multiple times before striking him with a long-handled weapon. The suspect then fled the scene, leaving the victim to perish.
Following the discovery of the murder weapon, an ax purchased by Kryger at a local store, authorities executed a search warrant at his residence. Kryger was subsequently taken into custody without incident and admitted to being the person captured in the video footage casing the victim.
Kryger is currently held at the King County jail on a $5 million bond and is awaiting arraignment on the premeditated murder charge. The details of his legal representation have not been disclosed at this time. The tragic incident has shocked the Seattle community and raised concerns about the vulnerability of the homeless population to senseless acts of violence.