"Random homicide" in morning commute

Ronald Whitehead backed out of his Des Moines garage early yesterday and was heading to Bellevue, where he worked with Boeing's computer systems.

Less than three miles from his home, he was found shot to death, his body pushed from his car and left in the middle of an intersection by an apparent carjacker in what police are characterizing as a random crime.

The working theory, said King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart, is that Whitehead, 61, was carjacked sometime after he left home and that the carjacker shot him from the passenger seat of Whitehead's black 2000 Mustang.

He said investigators won't know for sure what happened until they catch the person who shot Whitehead and stole his car.

A witness called 911 at 5:45 a.m. after seeing Whitehead being pushed from the vehicle at the intersection of Eighth Avenue South and Des Moines Memorial Drive, near the border between Burien and SeaTac, Urquhart said.

The carjacker drove off, heading east toward SeaTac.

Whitehead was shot at least twice, including once in the head, Urquhart said.

Three shell casings were found on the pavement, Urquhart said.

As of last evening, police had not found Whitehead's car.

"It is pretty unusual for a carjacking to go this far wrong," Urquhart said. "They're always traumatic. They're always violent, but not to the point where someone dies."

Whitehead's death "is apparently a random homicide ... ," Urquhart said. "They're the hardest to solve."

"A shocking tragedy"

Sheri Conn was a couple of minutes late for work yesterday at Sisters Espresso, a coffee shack near the intersection where Whitehead's body was found. When she got there, the first officers were just arriving.

"There was an officer standing there taking [Whitehead's] pulse," said Conn, 21. "He looked at another officer and just shook his head."

Whitehead, a 42-year Boeing employee, worked at the Boeing Shared Services Campus near Eastgate in Bellevue, company spokesman Dean Tougas said.

"This is obviously a shocking tragedy, and the people of Boeing are deeply saddened by losing their co-worker. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends," Tougas said in a statement. "... This event has been a blow to his co-workers and Boeing is providing counselors to help them cope with this very sad news."

Plea for help

Last night, Whitehead's wife, Velma, two adult daughters and two family friends gathered outside his home asking for tips or for the suspect to turn himself in. Whitehead also has two sons, ages 16 and 33.

"Someone took away my dad, and I just hope that this person comes forward," said Kimberley Whitehead, 38.

Jay Hildebrand, a family spokesman and Kimberley Whitehead's boyfriend, said the family didn't understand the crime.

"It is heartless ... and you can't make sense of it for the life of you," he said.

Whitehead was a loving father who liked to spend time at home with his family, Hildebrand said.

"He doesn't have any enemies or anything like that," Hildebrand said. "He was just a normal, everyday man."

Yesterday afternoon, Whitehead's neighbors described him as a "friendly fellow" with a "quiet sense of humor." Whitehead and his wife moved into the neighborhood a decade ago and spent much of their free time working on old cars, fixing them up and selling them, according to the couple next door, who asked not to be named.

Whitehead's family was very close, the couple said. A birthday party had been planned for today at the Whitehead residence for Whitehead's grandson, who turns 3 on April 1, they said.

"He was a very good man," said a woman who lives across the street. "He always helped me when my car got into trouble.

"Our neighborhood is not one that does a lot of intermingling — unless we need each other," said the woman, who declined to give her name. Whitehead, she said, was always there in times of need.

"This is a very quiet neighborhood and we've been very, very fortunate" that crime hasn't been a problem, she said. "That's why this seems so unreal. I don't know what to even think. It's just so scary."

Times staff reporters Ashley Bach and Christine Clarridge contributed to this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that a description of Whitehead's car was flashed on highway reader boards. According to a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman, electronic reader boards are used to help law enforcement only during Amber Alerts, which are issued when it is suspected a child has been kidnapped.