In the late summer of 2018, the quiet community of Hoquiam, Washington, was unsettled by a grim discovery. On the morning of Sunday, August 12, a fisherman at a boat launch on the Humptulips River, about 10 miles west of Hoquiam, happened upon a distressing scene. The body of 35-year-old Andrew Detwiler, a White male resident of Hoquiam, was found at the launch located at 1344 State Route 109. It was immediately apparent to the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office deputies who responded to the call, assisted by the State Patrol and Fish and Wildlife officers, that Detwiler had been the victim of violence.
An autopsy later confirmed the initial suspicions, revealing that Detwiler had died from multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into his death was swiftly classified as a homicide. As detectives began to piece together the events leading to his demise, they urged the public to come forward with any information regarding Detwiler's whereabouts on the evening of Saturday, August 11, or the early morning of August 12. Through their investigation, a connection was made between Detwiler and another man, 30-year-old Daniel Stephen Heyting of Aberdeen. Phone messages and a separate investigation linked the two men, and a witness eventually placed both of them at the boat launch on the night of the murder.
Evidence collected from Heyting further tied him to the scene of the crime. He was arrested on Thursday, August 16, 2018, and booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for investigation of first-degree murder. In court, his bail was set at $500,000. Over a year later, in November 2019, Daniel Stephen Heyting pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Andrew Detwiler. During the sentencing in January 2020, the courtroom was filled with the friends and family of both men. The prosecutor argued for the maximum sentence of 25 years, stating that Heyting had shown no real remorse and had changed his story multiple times, at one point claiming he was "spun out on drugs and acted in self-defense." Heyting's defense attorney suggested the incident was a "drug deal gone bad," and that Heyting's addiction to opioids, which began after an on-the-job injury, had caused him to spin out of control. Ultimately, Daniel Stephen Heyting was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of Andrew Detwiler.
