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Identity Revealed Of Dead Suspect In Gig Harbor Murder-Suicide

POSTED: 1:58 pm PDT April 3, 2007
UPDATED: 6:09 pm PDT April 3, 2007

A dead man suspected in a Gig Harbor homicide-suicide was wanted in Oregon on warrants for kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.

Sheriff's deputies who had kept his name secret revealed his identity on Tuesday as John W. Branden, 62. For days, detectives declined to release Branden's real name because of their investigation into his alleged crimes in Oregon and elsewhere.

On Thursday, sheriff's officers found Randall Nozawa, 49, critically wounded in a Gig Harbor cul-de-sac. In the house, detectives found the bodies of Turi Bentley, 66, and the man, then known only by an alias, John Williams.

During a search of the house, detectives found evidence that Branden used multiple phony identities and was hiding from the Oregon arrest warrants. They said they found fake IDs, many from the British Virgin Islands with the names John Williams and Turi Bentley.

Detective Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said the information recovered may be involved in "other investigations involving other agencies," but he did not go into detail.

Deputies said the attempted murder warrant stemmed from a 1999 incident and that a woman involved in the case had been in hiding, fearing Branden would find her.

“Even though this case is going to be over, as far as what happened with the murders, there may be a long trail, and other people charged down the line,” Troyer said.

Branden and Bentley lived together as a couple, but there are no records to show they were legally married. Investigators said they believe Bentley did not know Branden's real identity or that he was hiding from the law.

“There’s no way she could have known, or Dr. Randall too. I know he thought that John seemed disturbed or upset about something and he thought he could help. That’s what he told one of our members the night before,” Becky Minton, a friend of the victims, said.

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