On a Sunday morning, April 25, 2021, the quiet of an Olympia, Washington neighborhood was broken by a grim discovery. A jogger running along the 2500 block of 12th Avenue Northeast, near South Bay Road, spotted the body of a man in a ditch around 7:50 a.m. The man was identified as 37-year-old Jose Luis Alejo Tamayo, a male from the nearby city of Chehalis. First responders arrived to find him with his head in the ditch and his legs partially in the roadway.
It was soon determined that his death was no accident; an autopsy would later confirm he died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. The Thurston County Sheriff's Office immediately launched a homicide investigation, closing off the road for much of the day as detectives processed the scene. Near his body, they found a damaged hat, small bags containing what they suspected were methamphetamine and heroin, a 9mm ammunition round, and $140 in cash.
The investigation quickly gained momentum as detectives began to unravel the events leading to Alejo Tamayo's death. The motive appeared to be rooted in a dispute over a drug debt. Investigators learned that some of the individuals they would later identify as suspects owed money to Alejo Tamayo. The conflict had recently escalated when Alejo Tamayo allegedly took a dog from the apartment of one of the suspects because of the outstanding debt. This act prompted the arrangement of a meeting to get the dog back.
Within days, the Thurston County Sheriff's Office began making arrests. Investigators located a white Pontiac G6 they believed was involved in the homicide at a residence about a mile from where the body was found. This led them to their first suspects. Rochelle Lee Schneberger, a 37-year-old Olympia woman, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. Detectives alleged that she was in the car with Alejo Tamayo shortly before he was killed. Given her extensive history of failing to appear in court, a judge denied her bail, deeming her a potential danger to the community. Also arrested was 30-year-old Olivia Farrar Ingram-Legvold, who faced charges of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. She was accused of helping Schneberger clean and hide the car connected to the crime. Her bail was set at $50,000.
The investigation continued, and based on an anonymous tip, two more individuals were taken into custody. A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, and a 32-year-old woman was arrested for first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Investigators believed the male suspect was also in the vehicle with Schneberger and Alejo-Tamayo just about an hour before his death. The fourth person was accused of helping the male suspect evade law enforcement, knowing he was involved in the killing. Authorities indicated that more arrests were possible as they continued to follow all available leads in the case.
