Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 18 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
MARKED
FOR DEATH
A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE DOUGLAS MURDER INVESTIGATION
South Whidbey Record
South Whidbey Record
Russel Douglas looked a little lost when he drove up a driveway off Wahl Road that December day.
D
D
Wishes come first as talk begins on the future of schools BY Ben watanabe
BY BRIAN KELLY
He quickly figured out he was in the wrong place, thought the homeowner who had seen him drive slowly through the neighborhood 10 minutes earlier, as Douglas put his bright yellow Chevrolet Geo Tracker in reverse and, fast and straight, backed out onto Wahl Road, then drove away. He found where he thought he was supposed to be just down the road, minutes later, because that’s where somebody killed him. ouglas, a 32-year-old Renton resident who was back on Whidbey Island for Christmas to visit his estranged wife and their two kids, turned off at 6665 Wahl Road into a private driveway. It had been a good visit so far. Douglas had been staying at his wife’s place in Langley for the holidays, and the day before, on Christmas, the family had all opened presents together before breakfast. Douglas got his kids an Xbox. He pulled his car into a nest of trees next to the gravel driveway about 75 feet from the road, and waited to pick up a Christmas gift for his wife that one of her friends from her hair salon had promised to drop off at the hush-hush rendezvous. ouglas was still sitting in his car when he was found the following day. It was about 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003. A Bellingham man who had been staying at
INSIDE: Senior moments, Sports, A6
The murder weapon, a .380 Bersa “Thunder” model, and accused murder James Huden’s fingerprints. a nearby cabin was out walking his dog with his two sons when one of the boys noticed the SUV Peggy Sue Thomas James “Jim” Huden with its passengerin blood. He went back to the awaiting trial for eight months side door open. The dome light cabin to call 911. now. was on. Investigators have believed ore than seven years They walked up, and the since July 2004 that he was the would pass before man yelled “Hello” as they triggerman in the killing, and police would make their first approached the rear of the car. that his girlfriend, Peggy Sue arrest in the murder. They were met with silence. Thomas, was an accomplice in The law finally caught up He walked up to the car, looked the crime. with James “Jim” Huden in late inside through the open door Thomas was arrested on June 2011 in Veracruz, Mexico, and saw Douglas slumped over, July 9 after she stepped off her where he had been hiding his fists clenched. half-million dollar houseboat under an assumed name and The man took his sons back called “Off the Hook” in Navajo working as a music teacher to their cabin and returned for a know as “Maestro Jim.” He was Dam, N.M. She was released closer look. He walked around on a $500,000 bail bond in arrested and turned over to the front, and saw that Douglas federal marshals, and has been had a large wound on the front sitting in the Coupeville jail of his head and was covered See murder, A9
M
LANGLEY — Some wanted more extracurriculars, others wanted more advanced placement courses, and others asked about course flexibility. In the first community conversation hosted by the South Whidbey School District, about 50 parents, teachers, principals and community members gathered in the South Whidbey High School auditorium to hear about and question the district’s future. One thing was certain, even though the night was full of uncertainty and questions: South Whidbey students, or at least their parents, have diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. “We have to develop hope, and we have to start our plan,” said District Superintendent Jo Moccia. “It’s my responsibility as superintendent to come up with a plan both in the short term and in the long term,” she said. At first, the meeting was more like a class lecture than a conversation as parents listened for more than an hour to presentations from Moccia and Dan Poolman, the district’s business director. They described the district by its goals, its programs and its finances. The picture they painted was at times bleak. Financially, the budget has shrunk with the district’s enrollment. That trend is projected to continue next year, and Poolman said the school district estimated 70 fewer students to enroll this fall, but that 1,150 students should be where the drop levels off. Operations funds are stagnant, and as the budget gets cut, he said, those costs become a greater burden to the district. “Our fixed costs are rising, even though we’re getting smaller as an organization,” Poolman said. Transportation costs are mostly finite. While the transportation office is considering different routes to save fuel costs, students live where they live, Poolman said, which is from Classic Road in Greenbank south to Possession Point, about 60 square miles. “We’re still going down those streets,” Poolman said. “We still See schools, A8