Ex-Boyfriend Arrested In Everett Missing Woman Case

Detectives have arrested the ex-boyfriend of a missing Everett woman and they say he is the suspect in her slaying.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says detectives believe Sherry Harlan, 35, was the victim of homicide and that her former boyfriend, 40-year-old Eric Christensen of Gold Bar, killed her.

Harlan has not been found, but sheriff’s detectives have found a burned out car in an area near Gold Bar and said it could be hers.

Detectives and crime lab investigators collected "a large amount of evidence" from Harlan’s apartment on Wednesday, the sheriff's office said. Portions of vinyl and carpet had been cut out and removed from the apartment, and there was evidence of an attempt to clean up the unit.

One neighbor reported hearing yelling and fighting coming from the direction of Harlan's apartment on the morning of Jan. 2.

SLIDESHOW: Investigators Comb Apartment

When he was arrested, Christensen had numerous scratches on his face, forearms, shoulder and back, and a stab wound on his right knee, the sheriff's office said. Investigators found bloody clothing at the property in Gold Bar where he lives, they said.

Harlan's friend, Mike Kriegel, gave Christensen a ride recently and noticed the injuries on his face and body.

"The guy has pretty serious wounds. I mean, you can tell it's a deep scratch from the bridge of his nose to the corner of his eye. His right hand was all tore up," Kriegel said.

At that time, Harlan was classified as a missing person, but Kriegel said Christensen didn't seem concerned.

"He seems more worried about the family dog they had together, than her well being. He was just cold about it,” he said.

Christensen has been in police custody since Thursday morning, when he was booked for failing to register as a sex offender. He was convicted in Oregon in 1990 for first-degree sexual abuse.

His criminal record also includes shooting a rifle at a previous ex-girlfriend and another man in Seattle in 1994. At the time he told police, "People shoot people where I come from and a girlfriend cheats on you," according to court documents.

Christensen served 12 years in prison.

Friends and neighbors told detectives Harlan’s ex-boyfriend had beaten her and that she was afraid to break up with him because she thought he would kill her, investigators said.

Police asked Christensen to take a polygraph test days before he was arrested. Kreigel said, “He told me the cops asked him to take a polygraph and he said, ‘No, get a court order.’”

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