A 46-year-old man who attended a Seattle Mariners game last week with a woman who hasn't been seen since will remain in jail as police continue investigating the woman's disappearance, her adult son's abduction and a jewelry theft, according to prosecutors.
The man waived his first court appearance Friday before a King County judge, who found probable cause to hold him on investigation of kidnapping, attempted murder, assault, theft and unlawful possession of a firearm, said Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
While the man was booked into jail on investigation of homicide, the probable cause statement outlining the Seattle police case against him doesn't include allegations that he killed Leticia "Leti" Martinez-Cosman — though police have referred to him as a suspect in her presumed death.
The Seattle Times is not naming the man because he has not yet been charged. Criminal charges are expected next week.
Martinez-Cosman, 58, was last seen March 31 at a Mariners game, where she took a selfie with the man and texted the photo to a friend, who later shared it with police, says the probable cause statement.
Martinez-Cosman hasn't been seen by her family and friends since the photo was taken.
The same friend who received the photo was with Martinez-Cosman when they first met the 46-year-old man March 19 in the food court of the Seattle Costco store, the statement says.
The day after the ballgame, "odd and uncharacteristic" text messages were sent from Martinez-Cosman's cellphone to her brother and a couple of her friends, even as calls to her phone went straight to voicemail, according to the statement.
Martinez-Cosman's brother on Sunday reported her missing to the King County Sheriff's Office after he was unable to contact her and learned of an incident involving his nephew nearly 12 hours earlier.
Martinez-Cosman's 24-year-old son — who lives with his mother and has been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities — was awakened around 2 a.m. by an unknown man knocking on his bedroom door, the statement says. The man told him that his mother had been in an accident and that he would drive him to the hospital.
After driving around in the man's SUV, the son later told police, the man stopped, got in the back seat and attempted to smother and strangle him from behind, according to the statement. During the ensuing fight, the son's head repeatedly hit the SUV's horn. At some point, the man told the son "he was doing this for his mother and that this was to spare him from being committed to an institution because of his conditions," the statement says.
The son bit the man's arm and was eventually able to get out of the SUV and call his father, who lives in Texas, says the probable cause statement. His father told him to call 911. He did, connecting with a Renton police dispatcher. The unknown man drove off in his SUV, and the son hid in some nearby bushes but had a difficult time telling the call-taker what had happened.
Several other people called 911 to report hearing a vehicle honking its horn at nearly 4 a.m. and a suspicious person hiding in the bushes, the statement says. Police arrived and found Martinez-Cosman's son, who was visibly upset and covered in blood. He again had difficulty explaining what happened and was taken to a hospital before he was driven home by a ride-hail driver, the statement says.
A friend later drove the son to his uncle's house, where he described the Renton incident and said he hadn't seen or heard from his mother.
Meanwhile, Seattle firefighters responded to a fully engulfed vehicle fire just before 7 a.m. in the 900 block of Golf Drive South, which is about 1 1/2 miles east of T-Mobile Park. The SUV was later identified as Martinez-Cosman's Honda CR-V, according to the statement, and investigators determined the fire had been started with an accelerant.
Once sheriff's officials learned that Martinez-Cosman's vehicle had been found torched in Seattle and that she was last seen in the city, the missing person investigation was turned over to Seattle police.
A Seattle detective obtained Martinez-Cosman's call records, which showed her phone connected with the 46-year-old man's phone both before the Mariners game and a little after 6 a.m. the next day, the statement says.
After learning the man's identity from his phone number, police determined his state Department of Licensing photo matched the man seen in the photo with Martinez-Cosman at the Mariners game, according to the statement. Police also learned he owned an Audi A6.
The same Costco on Fourth Avenue South where Martinez-Cosman first met the 46-year-old reported to police that $10,000 worth of jewelry had been stolen Tuesday from the store, according to the statement. Video surveillance footage of the suspect, his vehicle and license plate were all consistent with the 46-year-old and his Audi, the statement says.
Police got a warrant Wednesday to track the 46-year-old's cellphone location, "which showed him moving through the north end of Seattle," before he arrived at the Shoreline Costco, says the probable cause statement. Costco employees, who were aware of the Seattle theft, recognized the 46-year-old from photos that had been shared with them, and an off-duty sheriff's captain working security escorted the man into an office, the statement says.
Seattle police arrived, arrested the man and took him to police headquarters, where he removed a Mariners wristband and put it in his pocket before he was interviewed, the statement says.
The man initially denied knowing Martinez-Cosman or attending any sporting events but changed his story after he was shown the selfie, according to the statement. He then claimed she had run into another man at the end of the game and left with him, the statement says.
Police took the man's clothes as evidence and noted he had numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises on his hands, arms and body that appeared to be days old, according to the statement. They also saw what appeared to be blood inside his shoe, the statement says.
Because the man didn't appear in court Friday, bail was not addressed during his hearing.
Anyone with information about Martinez-Cosman's whereabouts is asked to call the SPD Violent Crime Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
