A man arrested in 2023 for murdering a couple in their Thurston County home, cleaning the scene and disposing of their bodies was convicted Tuesday for the two murders.
Following several weeks of trial in Thurston County Superior Court, a jury found Timothy Burke, 47, guilty of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder while armed with a firearm, as well as two counts of second-degree murder while aremd with a firearm.
He was convicted for murdering Dr. Karen A. Koep and her husband, Davido, who legally has no surname, in their Thurston County home in November 2023.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Karen Koep and Davido. We hope this verdict brings some measure of closure as they continue to cope with this tremendous loss,” the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office stated after the jury issued its verdict on Tuesday.
Burke was arrested on suspicion of murder seven days after the couple was reported missing on Nov. 10, 2023.
Burke was a tenant of Davido’s at the time of the murder, with detectives uncovering evidence suggesting that Davido intended to evict Burke and that Burke viewed Davido negatively.
Two neighbors reported hearing gunshots near the couple’s Lake Forest home between Long Lake and Marvin Road around 8 to 9 p.m. on either Nov. 10 or 11, 2023.
Surveillance footage from two separate credit unions reportedly shows a man, presumably Burke, using Davido’s credit cards on Nov. 12.
Deputies visited Koep and Davido’s home for a welfare check on Nov. 13, 2023, and found significant amounts of blood and other evidence suggesting an act of violence and an attempt to clean it up.
In police reports that were cited in charging documents, law enforcement personnel present for the welfare check noted that “they believed the quantity of blood in the house was in an amount beyond what a human could survive.”
Detectives did not find bodies in the home at the time of the welfare check.
Koep and Davido’s bodies were later found off Stedman Road Southeast at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in early December 2023.
While investigating the couple’s disappearance in November, investigators recovered Koep’s missing vehicle and another vehicle belonging to Burke, both of which contained blood.
Burke’s vehicle also contained human hair and mixed .45-caliber bullets, fired shell casings and a fired bullet that Burke had most likely taken from the couple’s home.
Burke was arrested on an unrelated identity theft charge on Nov. 14, 2023, but was released due to a lack of probable cause for the murder case.
He was arrested again on Nov. 17 after investigators determined that Burke’s firearm, which he had on him when arrested a few days prior, had fired the casings found in his vehicle.
Burke was found hiding from law enforcement on the side of a trail, according to court documents.
Burke has been in custody at the Thurston County Jail on a no-bail hold since his Nov. 17, 2023 arrest. He will remain in custody at the Thurston County Jail until his sentencing hearing.
That hearing had not been scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office thanked detectives Tuesday “for their dedication and perseverance through the many long days spent investigating this case, as well as their work in presenting the facts to the prosecutor’s office.”
Detectives’ work “helped ensure a strong case was brought before the jury,” the sheriff’s office stated.
