Dog whisperer's body missing in Washington
Christine Clarridge McClatchy Tribune
Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: News
Skagit County, Wash., prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges Friday against a Kennewick, Wash., man accused of killing T. Mark Stover, a charismatic dog trainer whose clients included a host of Pacific Northwest celebrities including Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki.
Michiel Glen Oakes, 41, the boyfriend of Stover's ex-wife, is being held on $5 million bail.
Stover's body remains missing. According to court documents filed today in Skagit County Superior Court, Oakes had purchased three ankle weights, anchor line, a backpack, shin guards and camouflage clothes the day Stover disappeared.
He met with his ex-wife later and told her that a big and "dangerous" mission had turned into a "job gone bad," court documents allege.
Oakes also told his ex-wife, according to court documents, that he would go to prison for the rest of his life if police saw what was in his car.
In Oakes' car, detectives found, among other things, a backpack matching the receipt, two 9 mm magazines, a bulletproof vest and instructions for a .22 gun silencer, court documents allege.
According to a friend of Oakes' family, Oakes met Stover's ex-wife, Linda Opdycke, when he was hired as a bodyguard to protect her.
Opdycke, the daughter of wealthy Eastside businessman Wally Opdycke, had filed for an order of protection against Stover in April 2008.
She claimed he had hidden on her property in Winthrop, Wash., and pointed a gun at her.
According to court documents filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state two years ago, the couple's divorce started off amicably, but several of Stover's friends said it became ugly.
Recently, Stover had threatened to sue the Opdycke family over the proposed sale of Kiket Island, where he and Opdycke had opened a dog retreat and training center after they married, several friends said.
After the divorce, Stover moved to a property south of Anacortes and resumed his training operations.
Michiel Glen Oakes, 41, the boyfriend of Stover's ex-wife, is being held on $5 million bail.
Stover's body remains missing. According to court documents filed today in Skagit County Superior Court, Oakes had purchased three ankle weights, anchor line, a backpack, shin guards and camouflage clothes the day Stover disappeared.
He met with his ex-wife later and told her that a big and "dangerous" mission had turned into a "job gone bad," court documents allege.
Oakes also told his ex-wife, according to court documents, that he would go to prison for the rest of his life if police saw what was in his car.
In Oakes' car, detectives found, among other things, a backpack matching the receipt, two 9 mm magazines, a bulletproof vest and instructions for a .22 gun silencer, court documents allege.
According to a friend of Oakes' family, Oakes met Stover's ex-wife, Linda Opdycke, when he was hired as a bodyguard to protect her.
Opdycke, the daughter of wealthy Eastside businessman Wally Opdycke, had filed for an order of protection against Stover in April 2008.
She claimed he had hidden on her property in Winthrop, Wash., and pointed a gun at her.
According to court documents filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state two years ago, the couple's divorce started off amicably, but several of Stover's friends said it became ugly.
Recently, Stover had threatened to sue the Opdycke family over the proposed sale of Kiket Island, where he and Opdycke had opened a dog retreat and training center after they married, several friends said.
After the divorce, Stover moved to a property south of Anacortes and resumed his training operations.
Be the first to comment on this story