Beating Suspect May Face Death -- Aggravated-Murder Charge Filed In Slaying Of Kitsap Runaway
Roderick S. Selwyn, a 26-year-old Bremerton man with an extensive criminal record, could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of killing Jerry Wager, who was beaten to death Friday.
Yesterday, Selwyn was charged with aggravated first-degree murder by Kitsap County Prosecutor Dan Clem. The aggravated provision allows Clem to ask for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if Selwyn is convicted.
Clem said he would make the decision within 30 days on whether to ask for the death penalty. It would depend on Selwyn's background and more investigation, he said.
An alleged accomplice, Andrew F. Rogers, 17, who also has a criminal history, was charged with first-degree murder yesterday. The maximum penalty for the crime is life imprisonment, but release is a possibility.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
Rogers, a juvenile, was charged in Kitsap County Superior Court under a new state law that allows 16- and 17-year-olds to be charged as adults when serious violent crimes are involved, Clem said.
Another suspect, a girl, 15, already has been charged with second-degree murder in Kitsap County Juvenile Court.
Wager, a runaway who had been living on the streets in Bremerton, was found dead at Fairview Junior High School. Court documents say Selwyn, who weighs 250 pounds, savagely beat Wager, who weighed 110 pounds, as a gang initiation. He punched and kicked Wager with pauses in between.
At one point, Selwyn tried to break Wager's neck by sitting on the victim's back, lifting his head and punching the base of his neck, the papers allege.
Both Rogers and the girl aided in some manner in the assault, and the girl provided a paper bag that was jammed down Wager's throat, court documents indicate. The autopsy determined the teenager died of both the beating injuries and the asphyxiation.
Beth Canfield, Wager's foster mother, described him as a quiet, passive boy who had depressive episodes because of abuse he suffered when younger.
"He was a real likable kid. All the kids here (at the foster home) liked him," Canfield said. "He never had been in real trouble. He was not aggressive at all."
After Selwyn, dressed in dark-gray jail garb, pleaded not guilty, his attorney, Kevin Anderson, asked Judge Leonard Kruse to restrict publicity about the case from the Kitsap County prosecutor's office.
Anderson said a prosecutor had told a reporter about an uncharged crime in Selwyn's background, alluding to Selwyn's recent arrest for car theft, which will not result in charges.
Kruse ordered both sides to comply with the "rules of professional conduct" and told Anderson he could ask for a hearing on the matter before the trial judge.
Afterward, Clem accused Anderson of theatrics. Asking for restrictions on publicity is "normal procedure by defense attorneys these days," he said.
No rights of the defendant were violated, Clem said, adding, "It was a proper question (by the reporter) and a proper response" by his deputy, Mike Savage.
After the arraignment, Mary Hill, Selwyn's mother, said, "He's my son, and I will stand by him whatever the outcome."
Rogers' mother, Joyce Tetzlaff, said, "Andy is a good kid. He's not a runaway, and he's never been an aggressive person. We're a Christian family, and we want Christians out there to pray for us."
Clem said Selwyn's record shows convictions for malicious mischief, forgery, burglary, auto theft and attempted robbery, all felonies, and two misdemeanors.
Most of Selwyn's crimes were nonviolent, but it was "obvious he was progressing up the ladder. . . . His crimes were getting more serious," Clem said. Selwyn served about two years in prison for the attempted robbery and was released Aug. 17, only to be arrested two days later in Bremerton with a companion in a stolen truck. There was not enough evidence to charge either person, Clem said.
Rogers, who lives in the Suquamish area of north Kitsap County, has had several convictions. Most were for property crimes, but he served time in juvenile institutions at least twice, Clem said.