On the tragic evening of October 12, 2021, a 28-year-old White / Caucasian woman named Krystal Storm LeBoeuf of Spanaway, Washington, was found fatally shot on the side of the road. Passersby discovered her near 208th Street East and Mountain Highway East, still alive and attempting to speak, though her words were unintelligible. Despite the efforts of paramedics who were called to the scene, Krystal succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead.
Investigators quickly
launched a homicide investigation. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Krystal in an altercation with an individual wearing a hoodie shortly before her death. Surveillance footage from a nearby building captured the shooting, showing a vehicle pulling into a gravel area and its headlights turning off. It appeared to detectives that a shot was fired inside the vehicle, after which Krystal stumbled out of the car.
The investigation led authorities to a suspect, 39-year-old Brian King. King was arrested in Tacoma on October 15, 2021, in connection with Krystal's murder. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and possession of a stolen firearm, with bail set at $2 million. According to court documents, King, described as a suspected drug dealer, was angry with Krystal, who had recently lived with him, because he believed she had stolen up to $15,000 in cash and narcotics from him.
Surveillance footage showed Krystal getting into a Volkswagen Jetta, similar to King's, at Spanaway High School on the night she was killed. When King was apprehended, he was found cleaning a Volkswagen Jetta that matched the description of the vehicle seen in the surveillance footage. During questioning, King admitted to picking Krystal up that night but claimed he had not seen her since she exited his car and walked away. However, when investigators played the surveillance footage of the shooting for him, which included Krystal's screams, he was faced with the evidence connecting him to her final moments. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail as the investigation into Krystal's death continued.
