Three are shot to death on Bainbridge Island\n
Ann Marie Rice, a 19-year-old Caucasian female, was found deceased on March 17, 1989, on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She was discovered along with two male companions, Ty McCullough, 18, and JayDee Phillips, 22, inside McCullough's pickup truck on a remote logging road near Port Blakely. All three victims had been fatally shot with a. 22-caliber handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun. The last time they were seen alive was the evening of March 16, 1989. A resident who was going four-wheeling in the area came across the vehicle and, sensing something was wrong, approached it to find the three young people inside.
The investigation into the triple homicide led authorities down a complex and often contradictory path. For months, the case saw little progress until an inmate in the Snohomish County Jail, Douglas Stanfield, came forward claiming to have information. His confession, however, would prove to be inconsistent. Stanfield implicated himself and another man, Robert Welsh, a 25-year-old from Silverdale. Based on Stanfield's initial statements, both men were charged with the murders. The motive appeared to be related to a drug theft, with one theory suggesting the victims were mistakenly targeted in an act of revenge. According to one of Stanfield's accounts, the perpetrators had intended to steal cocaine.
The legal proceedings were fraught with complications. Stanfield soon recanted his confession, leading to the initial release of Robert Welsh. However, Stanfield later implicated Welsh again, resulting in Welsh's re-arrest. The case against Welsh ultimately fell apart when phone records provided him with an alibi, showing he was on a call in Spokane around the time of the murders, approximately 18 miles from the crime scene. Charges against Welsh were permanently dropped. Douglas Stanfield eventually entered into a plea bargain, pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of JayDee Phillips and the second-degree murder of Ty McCollough. The murder charge for Ann Marie Rice was dismissed as part of this agreement. Stanfield was sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Despite his conviction, law enforcement officials have long believed that he did not act alone and that at least one other accomplice was involved in the killings. The case officially remains open as authorities continue to seek the identities of any other individuals who may have participated in the deaths of Ann Marie Rice, Ty McCullough, and JayDee Phillips.
