King County prosecutors have charged a Snohomish man with the Nov. 2023 murders of a man and woman near Renton — and charged a Tulalip man with assisting in hiding the bodies.
Prosecutors charged Snohomish resident Brandon Joseph Gerner, 41, with murder in the first degree for the death of 34-year-old Ashley Nichole Williams, and murder in the second degree for the death of 57-year-old Robert Leroy Frederick Riley. In addition, he has also been charged with animal cruelty in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.
Prosecutors charged Joshua C. Jones, 34, of Tulalip as an accomplice in the murders, filing two counts of felony rendering criminal assistance in the first degree against him.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, a third suspect involved in the incident, Kody Olsen, 45, died in a police-involved shooting in December 2023.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Gerner, Jones and Olsen all served as members of white supremacist prison gangs in Washington State Corrections Facilities, with investigators documenting the three spending time together in incarceration.
According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, victims Riley and Williams both died as a result of gunshot wounds to the chest. Williams additionally suffered more than 20 “sharp force injuries” consistent with stab wounds and a second gunshot wound to the back of her neck.
King County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered the dead bodies of Riley and Williams on Nov. 16 after responding to a report of a deceased person on the side of the road in the 25100 block of 238th Avenue Southeast in Maple Valley.
According to documents, witness accounts and suspect interviews found Gerner instructed Olsen to shoot Riley at a property in 22600 block of Southeast 216th Place in Maple Valley, potentially as a result of a drug deal “gone bad.”
According to a witness account, Gerner discovered cameras on the property following the shooting, and headed into a trailer to find the cameras. Gerner and Olsen discovered a woman in the trailer, Williams.
According to prosecutorial documents, Gerner stabbed Williams repeatedly, admitting to a witness they killed Williams as a result of her witnessing the shooting of Riley.
According to the affidavit, Olsen expressed to a second witness that he shot the woman because Gerner’s knife broke and the woman was suffering.
Gerner also admitted to a witness to shooting a dog on the property and taking approximately a pound of methamphetamine, according to the affidavit.
According to prosecutorial documents, Jones assisted Olsen and Gerner in loading the victims’ dead bodies into a vehicle, leaving the scene with Gerner driving. After leaving the bodies in the bushes of a residential neighborhood, Jones admitted to disposing of the dog’s body in an industrial area in Renton.
On Dec. 12, 2023, Olsen suffered a gunshot wound in a shootout with Pierce County deputies following a DUI traffic stop and pursuit, with two deputies shot and wounded in the firefight. Olsen died in the hospital on Dec. 16, 2023.
Investigators linked the shooting death of a horse named LeMon to Gerner, after a property owner reported his horse suffered a gunshot wound to the face on Dec. 17.
Jones stated to police that Gerner killed the horse as a “sacrifice to Olsen,” according to the affidavit.
King County prosecutors charged Gerner with animal cruelty in the first degree for the killing of the horse.
King County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Gerner in Tacoma on Feb. 9, according to arrest paperwork, and Jones in Renton on Feb. 14, following investigation into the murders.
Prosecutors filed charges against Gerner and Jones on Feb. 14.
The court scheduled the arraignments for Gerner and Jones for Feb. 28 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
