Surrendered ... David Kalac turned himself in to police after allegedly killing his girlfriend and posting photos of her body to 4Chan. Picture: APSource:Supplied
A 33-year-old man accused of murder in the slaying of his girlfriend in Washington state, posting photos of her body online, and writing that he wanted authorities to kill him has peacefully surrendered in Oregon.
Clackamas County sheriff’s Sgt. Nate Thompson said David Kalac was arrested at a transit centre in Wilsonville, about 32 kilometres south of Portland.
David Kalac's arrest Wednesday night nearly 320 kilometres from the crime scene in Washington state came after a daylong manhunt. He's accused of killing Amber Lynn Coplin, whose teenage son heard. That Amber Coplin had been found dead in her Port Orchard apartment bedroom. 2 lived there with her 13-year-old son, B.C.,3 and Kalac. When responding officers arrived, they found Amber’s husband, Paul Coplin,4 standing outside the apartment with B.C. When the responding sheriff’s deputy entered the apartment.
Kalac has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Amber Lynn Coplin, 30, in Port Orchard, Washington.
He was transported to Portland, where he was being held on $US2 million bail.
An officer was patrolling the area when a man came out of a wooded area near a parking lot.
“He basically said, ‘I have a warrant for my arrest,’” Thompson said.
Kalac was cooperative but provided no details about how he got to Wilsonville, the spokesman said.
Amber Coplin was murdered. Her 13 yo son found her, called his dad and 911. He's with other relatives now. pic.twitter.com/MmAY4BYj0Z
— Alison Grande (@AlisonKIRO7) November 5, 2014Washington state detectives have arrived in Portland and hoped to interview him, as well as take possession of the dead woman’s car, a 2001 Ford Focus that was found Wednesday afternoon in Portland, about 260 kilometres south of the crime scene.
Portland police briefly chased the car early Wednesday.
Kalac has a criminal history in Washington state and Virginia that includes convictions for assault, burglary and DUI, Kitsap County, Washington, sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wilson said.
Deputies have confirmed that gruesome photos posted on 4Chan are of the victim and the Port Orchard crime scene, Wilson said.
The person who posted the photos commented online on how the woman was killed and wrote of planning to be fatally shot by police.
Sickening ... A screengrab of the online post that police say Kalac made after murdering Amber Coplin and leaving her body for her 13-year-old son to find. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
“He’s our primary suspect,” Wilson said Wednesday. “It stands to reason that in all likelihood he is the person who posted those photographs.”
Coplin’s body was found by her 13-year-old son, Wilson said.
Hours earlier, the boy had heard her arguing with Kalac, detectives said in court papers. An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday.
Police say they found Coplin’s body in a bedroom.
Near her head was her driver’s license with the word “dead” written on it. The words “bad news” were written on blinds. And the words “she killed me first” were written on a picture on the wall.
Coplin’s son told police that his mother and Kalac argued loudly Monday night, court records show.
Witnesses also said they heard what sounded like a violent argument and loud thumping and banging noises coming from the apartment in the city west of Seattle across Puget Sound.
The teenager told police he thought his mom was sleeping in and Kalac was gone when he left the apartment Tuesday morning, according to court documents.
David Kalac in custody in Wilsonville. Detained without incident and Cooperative pic.twitter.com/EvZPu28oJL
— Wilsonville Police (@WilsonvillePD) November 6, 2014According to Wilson’s account, the boy came home from school Tuesday morning and took a nap.
When he woke up that afternoon, he noticed the car was missing, went to check on his mother and “found her unresponsive,” Wilson said.
At that point, the teen called his father, who is Coplin’s estranged husband.
The man came over, found the body about 3:30pm. Tuesday and called 911, the sheriff’s spokesman said.
The caller reported that Coplin’s face was bashed in, her car was missing and she was bloody and bruised, court documents show.
Kalac texted a friend from his cellphone on Tuesday morning telling the friend that he would read about him in the news.
Wilson said at some point Kalac took Coplin’s car and made the three-hour drive to Portland, where a police officer spotted the vehicle about 1:15am. Wednesday local time.
Wilson said investigators believe he is the sole suspect in Coplin’s death and they are not looking for any accomplices.
The officer tried to stop the driver early Wednesday, but the car sped away. The chase was called off because the car was swerving into oncoming traffic.
Port Orchard, Washington – Accused Murderer David Kalac is said to have posted pictures of the girlfriend that he strangled to death on popular online forum 4chan prior to being caught by the police.
The victim was Amber Lynn Coplin, and after strangling her, Kalac apparently left the body to be discovered by her 13 year old sign while he went to a bar for drinks and conversation before being apprehended.
The images posted on popular online message board 4chan show are extremely graphic and show the victim naked and already dead. The police later confirmed that the photos were indeed of Coplin.
Users on the 4chan board originally reacted with skepticism and disbelief – others offered encouragement for the act, but it is likely that the majority of users doubted the veracity of the photos. When it was later revealed that the photos were genuine, the users turned to trying to track down the killer and notify the family of the deceased.
Kalac, 33, posted the following in his initial message: ““Turns out its way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks on the movies.”
He then posted “She fought so Damn hard”.
Further on, he replies to the skepticism of many of the users with “Check the news for port orchard Washington in a few hours. Her son will be home from school soon. He’ll find her, then call the cops. I just wanted to share the pics before they find me. I bought a bb gun that looks realistic enough. When they come, I’ll pull it and it will be suicide by cop. I understand the doubts. Just check the fucking news. I have to lose my phone now.”
It appears that Kalac initially intended to commit ‘suicide by cop’, but he later turned himself in to police.
4chan Killer Intended for the Son of his Victim to Discover the Body
Kalac apparently left the body in the victim of her own home, and his posts of the internet message board indicate that he intended for her 13 year old son to discover the body. Apparently after the murder, Kalac went to a local bar where he stayed for four hours.
Police have stated that the killer has a history of violent crime. Local TV station KPTV reported that ‘she killed me first’ was written on a picture at the crime scene, and on the blinds were written the words ‘bad news’.
A confession note written by Kalac was found by the police. The note contained the following “I killed Amber Coplin. I strangled her with my hands, then a shoelace. I had No reason other than I was Drunk and she pissed me off. Running from the cops was so fun. DK.”
The charges against Kalac were originally for 2nd degree murder, but prosecutors increased the charges to 1st degree murder after the discovery of the note.
The screenshots of the original 4chan post including pictures of the deceased can be found online, but out of respect for the victim they will not be linked here. They can be found linked to in the comments to this reddit post
Source: NBC News, Huffington Post
Amber Coplin Dead Body
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