TENINO, Wash. -- The woman whose body was found in the front seat of a man's pickup truck has been identified.
Investigators said Vanda S. Boone, 60, died after being repeatedly stabbed on a bike trail in Tenino on Sunday afternoon.
Boone had recently moved from New York to Yelm, according to friends. She was staying with a friend and was working part-time as a massage therapist in Olympia.
Boone is said to be a follower of JZ Knight, the founder of the Yelm-based Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. On Tuesday, Knight released a written statement which said the school would take care of the funeral arrangements.
Vanda Boone
Police have arrested Bernard Howell, III under investigation of second-degree murder in Boone's death.
Howell, 26, was pulled over while driving his pickup truck near Tenino on Monday. Boone's body was found inside the car.
Erik Kohnhors, told KOMO News Howell showed up on the doorsteps of his Tenino home on Sunday afternoon, agitated, covered in sweat and desperate.
"He was trying to get me to help him move something, and I asked him if it was heavy and stuff, and he said, 'Yeah,' " Kohnhorst said. "His clothes were kind of messed up."
Kohnhorst later surmised Howell was asking him to help move the body.
"That's the only thing I can figure," Kohnhorst said.
Hours later, investigators said a man spotted Howell along Highway 507 near the trail from Yelm to Tenino, loading a body into his truck by himself.
The man told police Howell had asked him to put the body in the passenger seat as his truck bed contained a large, white refrigerator he used to store meat.
The man refused, drove into town and flagged down a deputy. The deputy spotted the truck a short time later and stopped the driver near Tenino Elementary School.
Chief Criminal Deputy Jim Chamberlain said Howell admitted he had a body in his pickup, adding he found the body along the trail and was trying to save the family the cost of a funeral.
Witness Jerry Jones said he watched as officers pulled the victim's body out of the truck, wrapped in plastic and a sleeping bag.
Truck driven by Bernard Howell "You could see between the truck and rear wheel. Here, this person was laying," Jones said.
Investigators said they found the victim's wallet and keys under the front seat.
Bernard Howell's truck
Officials also said they are looking into whether Howell may be connected to the disappearance of Nancy Moyer, who vanished from Tenino last year.
The 36-year-old mother of two was last seen in March 2009. Her front door was found open, with all her belongings still inside and her car was in the driveway.
Detectives said they have not found anything that links Howell to the case, but are planning to question him as a part of their investigation.
In the meantime, investigators have released a photo of the truck Howell was driving, and are asking anyone who saw the truck in the Tenino area on Sunday to give the Thurston County Sheriff's Office a call.
Howell has a history of mental illness, according to his father. He faces another court hearing Thursday where prosecutors hope to charge him and send him to Western State Hospital for a full evaluation.
Howell is being held on $750,000 bail.
Source: KOMO
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