In the late summer of 2014, the story of Brandon Shane Zomalt's death began to unfold with a strange discovery on the side of a road. Zomalt was a 30-year-old Black or African American male from Puyallup, Washington. On August 13, 2014, an off-duty federal agent noticed a fire in the woods along Peasley Canyon Road in Auburn. When the agent stopped to extinguish the flames, he found blood-soaked carpeting, towels, and flooring being burned.
A man who had been standing near the fire fled in a dark SUV as the agent approached. Investigators collected samples from the scene, and DNA analysis by the Washington State Patrol crime lab confirmed the blood belonged to Brandon Zomalt.
For weeks, friends and family had not seen or heard from Zomalt. The grim discovery of his blood led investigators to a South Hill home in the 13000 block of Military Road East, where Zomalt had been temporarily living with his roommate, Michael Clifford Boisselle. On September 1, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies performed a welfare check at the residence and found Zomalt's severely decomposed body in the garage. Detectives noted that flooring and carpet were missing from the house, matching the charred items recovered from the Auburn fire scene. An autopsy by the Pierce County Medical Examiner later determined that Brandon Zomalt had died from multiple gunshot wounds to his head and torso.
The investigation quickly focused on Zomalt's 34-year-old roommate, Michael Clifford Boisselle. The SUV seen fleeing the fire scene was registered to Boisselle's mother. According to charging documents and witness statements, Boisselle had told his mother and others that he had shot Zomalt out of frustration and no longer wanted him staying at the home. He also told his mother he was leaving the area and she would not hear from him again. A warrant was issued for Boisselle's arrest, and he was charged with first-degree murder. He was taken into custody in December 2014.
At his trial, Boisselle claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that Zomalt had held him at gunpoint. A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm, and in June 2016, he was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison. However, the legal battle was not over. In 2019, the Washington State Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that the initial search of Boisselle's home by police was an improper warrantless search. Following this decision, Michael Boisselle pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of second-degree manslaughter and unlawful gun possession. He was subsequently sentenced to six years and five months in prison for the death of Brandon Zomalt.
