Law enforcement officials have identified and arrested a second suspect in the July murder of a Kelso man whose body was blown up after his death.
Detectives with the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the sheriff’s office crime reduction team, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office and the Aberdeen Police Department, served a warrant on an Oakville property on Nov. 9, according to a news release.
There, law enforcement located and arrested Jerome Adrian Markert, 47, of Kelso.
He was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on charges of first-degree murder, prohibited explosives devices and unlawful disposal of human remains. He was additionally charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm after detectives found a firearm during the execution of their search warrant on the Oakville property.
Markert is the second suspect in the death of 51-year-old Alan Brice Nielsen.
Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the scattered remains of Nielsen on July 30 at the home of Jethro Nichols Welter in the 2100 block of Holcomb Road in Kelso.
Deputies believe the first suspect, Jethro Nichols Welter, 52, shot Nielsen during a dispute on July 15 and later used explosives to blow up the body, according to previous reporting by The Daily News of Longview.
Walter faces the charges of first-degree murder, 10 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, possessing a stolen firearm, possessing an explosive device, possession of meth with the intent to deliver, evidence tampering and unlawful disposal of human remains.
This investigation is ongoing and further details are not available at this time, the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information about this investigation to contact Detective Troy Lee at 360-577-3092.
