3 found guilty in 2017 quadruple killing of Washington family
PORT ORCHARD, Washington — A jury has found three men guilty of killing a family in Washington state in 2017. Detectives say it happened because of drugs and money.
Danie Kelly Jr., Robert Watson III and Watson’s younger brother Johnny Watson were found guilty Friday of four counts of first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree arson. -TV reported.
Christale Careaga, 37, Hunter Schaap and Johnathon Higgins, both 16, were found dead Jan. 27, 2017, in their burned-out home on the Kitsap Peninsula west of Seattle. The remains of John Careaga, 43, were found two days later in a scorched truck at a Mason County tree farm.
The Careagas owned Juanito’s Taqueria, a successful Mexican restaurant in Bremerton. In court documents, detectives said John Careaga also brought cocaine from California every few months to sell locally.
A close friend of his began selling the cocaine to Robert Watson, who investigators identified as a leader of a local chapter of the Bandidos motorcycle club, authorities said. Investigators have said the killings were not related to the club.
Careaga’s friend eventually stopped selling, and the next time Careaga went to California to get the drugs, Robert Watson went there “on John’s heels”, and according to investigators, the dialogue between the two intensified until the day of the murders.
John Careaga’s attorney told authorities that Careaga hid hundreds of thousands of dollars under his home, but that money was never found, investigators said.
Robert Watson, a Kitsap County Public Works employee, stopped working and was eventually fired in September 2017, according to court records. Detectives said about $303,000 was deposited into his accounts that year, and there were “numerous cash deposits for which the source could not be identified.”
Kelly was associated with the Bandidos as a “hang-around” and had been a close friend of Careaga before they fell out, detectives said.
A neighbor of the Careagas heard gunshots at the house on the day of the murders and reported seeing John Careaga’s truck driving away, with Kelly driving and another car following close behind.
During the months-long jury trial, attorneys tried to cast doubt on the timeline and the cell phone towers used to track the trio’s movements. Defense attorneys also argued that there was no evidence that anything had been taken from the Careaga home.