MAN admits role in slaying of girl
Chive Mynde
Man, 18, admits role in slaying
By Jennifer Sullivan
Times Snohomish County bureau
STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Maurice C. Rivas, 18, appears in Snohomish County Superior Court
yesterday with his lawyer, Karen Halverson.
EVERETT — An 18-year-old Lynnwood man, admitting he "helped dig the
grave where I knew Rachel Burkheimer would be shot and killed,"
pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree murder in Snohomish County
Superior Court.
Maurice C. Rivas, one of six men and a juvenile charged in connection
with Burkheimer's slaying in September, agreed to testify against his
co-defendants in exchange for a lesser charge. He was originally
charged with aggravated first-degree murder, which carries only two
possible penalties: either life in prison without parole, or
execution.
Prosecutors are recommending that Rivas serve 25 years in prison,
though a judge will have the option to sentence him to more time. He
will not be sentenced until the other defendants are tried.
Rivas didn't speak during the sentencing. He quickly glanced at
Burkheimer's parents, sister, relatives and friends, who were seated
in the courtroom.
Karen Halverson, Rivas' attorney, read from the letter her client was
required to write to explain his guilt.
"I was an accomplice to the death of Rachel Rose Burkheimer whereby
one of the accomplices shot Rachel Burkheimer with the intent to cause
her death," Halverson read.
Burkheimer, 18, was last heard from by friends Sept. 23 when she told
them she was taking an acquaintance to the airport. Snohomish County
sheriff's investigators, who discovered her body buried near Gold Bar
on Oct. 4, say she was shot and killed Sept. 23.
Rivas, whose last criminal convictions were for residential burglary
and possession of a firearm when he was a juvenile, has been
cooperating with prosecutors and police since shortly after his arrest
Oct. 6, according to court documents.
According to a search-warrant affidavit, Rivas said he saw Burkheimer
on Sept. 23 at a friend's house. Burkheimer and Matthew Durham were
going to meet Burkheimer's ex-boyfriend, John "Diggy" Anderson, at the
home of Yusef "Kevin" Jihad in South Everett.
Rivas said Jihad called him later that night and asked him to come
over. When he arrived, Rivas saw Burkheimer bound, gagged and beaten
in Jihad's garage, according to a search-warrant affidavit.
Rivas told police that Burkheimer was shoved into a large black duffel
bag, then put into the back of Durham's sport-utility vehicle. He said
he saw Anderson grab two shovels and a pick from Jihad's yard and put
them in the back of the truck.
Rivas, Durham, Anderson and John A. "Whit" Whitaker rode in Durham's
truck to a gravel pit outside Gold Bar, according to court records.
Rivas said he talked to Burkheimer during the drive.
According to search-warrant affidavits, Rivas helped Whitaker and
Anderson dig a hole. Anderson ordered Burkheimer to stand next to the
hole and Whitaker took her clothing and jewelry. Anderson then forced
Burkheimer to lie in the hole and shot her several times. Her body was
then covered with dirt and rocks.
Rivas later led detectives to where Burkheimer's clothing, her jewelry
and the rug she sat on inside Jihad's garage were burned. Some jewelry
and charred carpet pieces were taken for evidence.
"What he's done is convicted us to a life sentence of grief and pain,"
Burkheimer's father, Bill, said before yesterday's hearing. "The
family got a much harsher sentence than Maurice."
Bill Burkheimer said he had never seen Rivas before the man's arrest,
but said his daughter "thought Maurice was the greatest guy."
Anderson, 20, of Mukilteo; Durham, 17, of Lynnwood; and Whitaker, 22,
of Everett have been charged with aggravated first-degree murder and
conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors have not yet
decided whether to pursue the death penalty in the Anderson and
Whitaker cases.
Because Durham is a juvenile, the maximum sentence he could face would
be life in prison without parole.
Jihad, 32, has been charged with first-degree murder. Jeff S. Barth,
22, of South Everett, and Tony J. Williams, 20, of Des Moines, have
both been charged with first-degree kidnapping.
Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensu...@seattletimes.com.