On a grim Thursday, November 16, 2023, the quiet community of Maple Valley, Washington, was shaken by a grim discovery. The body of a Caucasian male, 57-year-old Robert Leroy Frederick Riley, was found alongside 34-year-old Ashley Nicole Williams. A passerby spotted their remains concealed under trash and debris in the bushes near the intersection of Southeast 252nd Street and 238th Avenue Southeast.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm that Riley's death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the chest. Williams had also been shot and had suffered more than 20 stab wounds.
The investigation into the double homicide led authorities to three suspects, all reportedly members of a white supremacist prison gang. Brandon Joseph Gerner, 41, and Joshua C. Jones, 34, were arrested in connection with the murders. A third suspect, 45-year-old Kody Olsen, died in a separate incident in December 2023 following a shootout with sheriff's deputies. According to court documents, the events that led to the deaths of Riley and Williams unfolded at a property in the 22600 block of Southeast 216th Place in Maple Valley, potentially stemming from a drug deal that had gone awry.
Prosecutors have since charged Gerner with first-degree murder for the death of Ashley Williams and second-degree murder for the death of Robert Riley. He also faces charges of first-degree animal cruelty and unlawful possession of a firearm. Joshua C. Jones was charged with two counts of first-degree felony rendering criminal assistance, accused of helping to hide the bodies after the murders occurred. Witness accounts suggest that Gerner instructed Olsen to shoot Riley. It is alleged that Williams was killed because she was a witness to Riley's murder. Brandon Gerner is identified as the founder of the Omerta White Supremacist Prison Gang. Both he and Jones have extensive criminal histories. Gerner had been released from prison just eight months prior to the killings after serving a 22-year sentence for numerous felonies. Jones and Gerner have since pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
