Algona teen Brandon Suhr pleaded not guilty in a King County courtroom on Wednesday to the first-degree murder of Walter Denesha.
Suhr, 19, is alleged to have broken into a Pacific apartment on May 31 and killed the 13-year-old Mt. Baker Middle School seventh-grader with a sword.
Suhr reportedly hid Denesha’s body in a closet before forcing the boy’s 16-year-old sister to write a note claiming responsiblity for the death and threatening to kill the rest of her family if she didn’t accompany him.
Investigators say Suhr was upset by the breakup of his and the girl’s relationship.
The trial is scheduled to start on July 16 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle.
Suhr is being held on $2 million bail.
