TACOMA, Wash. — Former neighbors of the suspect in the death of a 12-year-old Tacoma girl say he had a temper.

Convicted sex offender Terapon Adhahn, 42, gave police information that led them to the body of Zina Linnik. This week police named him a suspect in her death.

On Saturday, neighbors of a residence at East 88th Street in Tacoma, where Adhahn used to live, say he went by the name of "T."

"He just always gave us dirty looks, and stuff like that," said Gary Sorhein. "He was kinda mean, always had an attitude."

Pierce County prosecutors are expected to eventually charge Adhahn, a Thai immigrant and Level One sex offender convicted of incest in 1990, with the death of Zina Linnik, said Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell Friday. Zina's abduction near her Tacoma home on July 4 triggered a week-long AMBER Alert.

"The Pierce County Prosecutor's office has charged Terapon Adhahn with the failure to register as a sex offender. It's anticipated he will eventually be charged for Zina's abduction and death, to be determined by the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office," Ramsdell said.

Adhahn lived at a house at East 88th Street, now vacant and for rent, for 18 months until February of last year.

The home is across the street from an elementary school, a fact that angers some neighbors.

"It's not really safe with him around here," Sorhein said.

It's reported that Adhahn lived in the house with a wife, and had a towing business.

"One day he came over and knocked on the door, and he was just really mad because someone stole his CD player," said neighbor Darrils Bim. "He just like started going crazy."

Police broke into the home shortly after Zina disappeared.

"I talked to detectives, they said something about, had hounds over here that picked up a scent," said neighbor Larry Larrivee.

Law officers say the little girl's body was found Thursday night near Silver Lake, west of Eatonville. They spent the night and much of Friday combing through the remote area, led there by information from Adhahn's attorney, a public defender. However, Adhahn has not admitted to the crime.

Investigators are trying to piece together a timeline to find out what happened between the time she disappeared from behind her Tacoma home and when her body was left near Silver Lake.

An autopsy on Zina's body has been completed, but police will only say she died of homicidal violence

"I don't want to speculate on the cause of death or anything that may have occurred subsequent to that," said Ramsdell.

KING

Zina Linnik's body was found near Silver Lake, west of Eatonville Thursday night.

Police had previously only described Adhahn, who was initially arrested on an immigration complaint, as a person of interest in the case. 

But investigators now say they're now looking at whether Adhahn, linked to Zina's disappearance because of his van and license plate, could have connections to other missing children.

"Adhahn is a suspect in other local crimes which investigators are actively pursuing. The FBI is also looking at other crimes that Adhahn may have committed in other parts of the country," said Ramsdell.

Local police confirm they're looking into the disappearances of Lenoria Jones in 1995, Teekah Lewis in 1999 and Adre'Anna Jackson in 2005.

The FBI is also backtracking through Adhahn's adult life.

"I believe there is some indication that he was in the military and therefore he may have lived in other places," said FBI agent David Gomez.

KING

Adhahn was linked to the crime by his van and license plate.

Van description leads police to Adhahn

On July 4th, Zina Linnik had been sent down the alley behind her home to bring back some of her siblings, who had been watching neighbors set off fireworks, police say. Her father, Mikhail Linnik, heard her scream, found a single flip flop on the ground and saw a boxy gray van driving away.

The description of a suspect van and part of its license plate eventually led authorities to Adhahn, who was jailed this week on an immigration complaint. A search of the home where Adhahn had been staying turned up "girl's undergarments," according to a search warrant return.

Adhahn denied any involvement in Zina's disappearance and said he was not in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood July 4, Detective L.J. Wade wrote in an affidavit filed in Pierce County Superior Court in support of the search warrant application.

Court records show Adhahn was charged in 1990 with raping a 16-year-old relative. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree incest in exchange for completing 60 months of sexual-deviancy counseling. 

Investigators and forensic experts from the FBI searched the home on Monday, seizing items including used vacuum cleaner filters, bedding, black plastic sheeting and the undergarments, on which the search warrant return did not provide further details.

Adhahn was later transferred to federal immigration detention in Tacoma because he could face deportation for his 1990 incest conviction, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said earlier this week. But he also has been charged in Pierce County with failing to register as a sex offender, and would face that charge before being deported.

Co-workers of Zina Linnik's father have set up a fund for the family.  People can make a donation to the Zina Linnik Fund at any Key Bank.

There is also a fund set up with the Tapco Credit Union. Donations can be made at these branches:

6312 19th Street W, Tacoma

2802 6th Avenue, Tacoma

933 Tacoma Avenue, Tacoma

3503 112 Street E, Puyallup

4827 Pt. Fosdick Drive NW, Gig Harbor

13505 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma