PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — A jury has found three men guilty of killing four people in Seabeck, Wash., in 2017.
In January 2017, four people in a Kitsap County family were killed by members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, although the lead investigator said the killings were not club-related.
Danie Kelly, Jr., Robert Watson III, and Watson’s younger brother, Johnny Watson were charged in the killings. Investigators said Kelly, Jr. and Watson III are Bandidos members, and Watson is not affiliated with the club.
On Friday, all three were found guilty of four counts of premeditated murder in the first degree, four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree arson.
"It's over and they got justice," said John Higgins, whose son Jonathon Higgins, 16, and ex-wife Christale Careaga, 37, were killed.
The bodies of Christale Careaga, her son Jonathon Higgins and stepson Hunter Schapp, 16, were found in a burned-out home near Seabeck on Jan. 27, 2017. Days later, police found the body of the Careaga’s husband, John Careaga, 43, in a car that had been set on fire in Mason County.
A 911 call made by Schaap inside the Careaga home initially led investigators to the scene.
Prosecutors said John Careaga, a family man and restaurant owner, was dealing cocaine on the side. They said his problems started when he stopped dealing drugs to club members.
"The things that came out (at trial), it was kind of a shock to us too, and honestly the feelings of how is the community going to perceive us now, because they were so supportive in the beginning," said Erika Higgins, the stepmom of Jonathon Higgins.
Prosecutors argued the suspects planned to destroy the Careaga home by arson to get rid of any remaining evidence.
Throughout the five-month jury trial, the defense worked to cast doubt on the timeline and cellphone towers used to track the alleged killers' movements. The defense argued there was no evidence of robbery or evidence that anything was taken from the Careaga home.
When the verdict was read Friday, John and Erika Higgins, said they were relieved and the feelings were overwhelming.
"There was never a smoking gun," Erika Higgins said. "It could have gone both ways."
It was a long road to get to a verdict. Over the last seven years, Erika Higgins said she had resolved that there might never be answers. She described feeling numb during the investigative process, as each day that passed was another day of waiting.
Now, the Higgins' are just waiting for sentencing, which is expected in May.
"To feel this close to the end, it’s just a lot to digest still," Erika Higgins said.