EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Prison inmate Byron Scherf was calm and tried to clean his fingernails shortly after he was detained in the strangulation of corrections officer Jayme Biendl in the chapel of the Washington State Reformatory.
The Daily Herald of Everett on Wednesday reported that Scherf was found sitting outside the chapel of the Monroe prison the evening of Jan. 29 as other corrections officers came searching for him after he missed a roll call.
Scherf claimed he must have fallen asleep, and that Biendl had simply missed him while clearing the chapel.
Scherf is charged with aggravated murder and faces the death penalty if convicted. Snohomish County prosecutors say he has admitted killing Biendl.
