Kenneth Thomas told Auburn Police he shot and killed Evangeline Dasalla, whom’d he’d been dating for nine years, at their West Hill home during the early morning hours of June 28 because he felt she’d cheated on him numerous times, and betrayed him by putting “voodoo” on him.
On Monday, July 2, the King County Prosecutor charged the 48-year-old Louisiana native with second-degree murder, domestic violence. He is in King County Jail on $2 million bail.
“Kenneth Thomas executed Evangeline Dasalla by shooting her once in the back of the head,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Jason Simmons told a Superior Court Judge on July 2 in his request for bail. “Thomas’s brutality demonstrates the grave and lethal threat (he) presents to the community.”
Here is what happened, according to the Auburn Police Department’s Certification for Determination of Probable Cause (CFDPC):
At 1:23 a.m. on June 28, Dasalla’s 22-year-old son called 911 from a house adjoining his parents house at 1103 U St. NW, advising dispatch that within 10 minutes of his call, his mother had warned him in a text message “to get out of the house,” and that after her text, he heard two gunshots from inside his parents’ bedroom.
According to the CFDPC, Dasalla’ son also told 911 that “his mom was in an (unknown) dispute with his dad, that his dad was acting unusual,” and that his parents were likely alone at the house.
Arriving officers surrounded the house and used a loudspeaker to order anyone who was inside to come out. Thomas came out through the front door, and officers took him into custody without incident, according to the CFDPC.
When officers entered the house, according to the CFDPC, they found Dasalla on the floor of the master bedroom, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.
As Thomas told police at his initial interview, he’d been in the military and was designated a sharpshooter, but had been unemployed for some time while Dasalla had been working. He said he had bi-polar disorder but had been off his medication for a month.
“Thomas told detectives he was stressed about money and not working,” according to the CFDPC. “Thomas said he felt betrayed by Evangeline because she had put ‘voodoo’ on him. Thomas stated that he got his Ruger .9 mm from his night stand and took the safety off. Thomas stated that he shot Evangeline once in the head where she fell to the floor and didn’t move. Thomas stated that the gun had jammed so he put it on the floor right beside the bed. Thomas stated that Evangeline only had a cellphone in her hand prior to the shooting.”
In a later interview, Thomas told detectives that he felt betrayed because, he believed, Dasalla had cheated on him several times, according to the CFDPC.
He said that at the time of the shooting, Dasalla had been sitting on the bed with her back to him, texting as usual on her cellphone.
“Kenneth stated that he saw a silhouette of someone standing on the hill behind his home,” according to the CFDPC. “Kenneth said he asked Evangeline if she ‘set’ him ‘up again,’ and said she replied ‘yes.’ Kenneth said that Evangeline told him there was a sniper outside, and if he, Thomas, stepped toward her he would be shot. Kenneth said he felt betrayed and was in fear for his life, so he fired the shot.”
According to the CFDPC, the APD’s crime scene processing team found two spent shell casings and what they believed to be the fatal bullet in the master bedroom. Although Thomas insisted he’d fired only the one shot, the team recovered a second bullet, which had penetrated the floor and lodged in the crawl space under the house.
