Police make second arrest in murder case

MARYSVILLE Local detectives have arrested a Marysville man, 21, suspected to be behind the three-year-old murder of homeless man Charles Hughley, 39.

The arrest of Matthew Hedgcoth arrived April 30, just a few weeks after officials brought in a suspect they believe was present during Hughley's murder and may have participated in disposing of evidence related to the crime, according to Marysville Police.

The second suspect was booked into a Snohomish County Jail on a charge of suspicion of second degree murder, said city police Cmdr. Ralph Krusey, who added the arrest was made based on information obtained following the earlier arrest.

Hedgcoth is now being held pending a $1 million bond. The initial suspect has since been released on bail. Police initially charged him with a felony count of rendering criminal assistance.

Officers found Hughley's body April 13, 2005 in a vacant home in the 100 block of Beach Avenue. According to information released to The Globe at the time, police routinely checked the home as it was known to be a regular haunt of local transients.

Hughley was stabbed to death according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office.

Talking to The Globe shortly after the murder, Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux did not seem to think investigators had much to work with in terms of clues after Hughley was found.

"Most often you have some kind of story that points you in a direction," Lamoureux said.

He described the victim as someone with a minor criminal history, including only a couple of traffic citations and one disorderly conduct charge.

Despite the apparent lack of clues, in a press release put out last month, police said they had continued to work on the murder over the past three years. No details were released, but on April 9, officials said they were conducting a follow-up investigation when they learned of someone who might have been present when Hughley died. The suspect quickly was found in Stanwood and arrested.

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