Washington Man Denies Killing Girl for Insurance Money
An Auburn-area, Wash., man accused of drowning his 3-year-old stepdaughter to collect on a $200,000 life insurance policy pleaded innocent in King County Superior Court and remained in jail on $5 million bail.
Joel Zellmer, 37, was arrested in the death of Ashley McLellan, who was pulled unconscious from the family pool in December 2003 and died two days later.
Authorities initially ruled the drowning an accident but reopened the investigation after finding that the death fit a pattern of near-drownings and other bizarre injuries to befall the young children of women that Zellmer dated or married, according to court records.
Zellmer is charged with first-degree murder, as well as first-degree theft for allegedly faking a head injury to collect $193,000 in disability payments from the state Department of Labor and Industries.
- DraftKings Sued Over ‘Risk-Free’ Bets That Were Anything But
- EPA Designates PFAS Chemicals as Superfund Hazardous Substances
- California Sees Two More Property Insurers Withdraw From Market
- Florida’s Home Insurance Industry May Be Worse Than Anyone Realizes
- Poll: Consumers OK with AI in P/C Insurance, but Not So Much for Claims and Underwriting
- EVs Head for Junkyard as Mechanic Shortage Inflates Repair Costs
- Millions of Recalled Hyundai and Kia Vehicles, With Dangerous Defect, Remain on Road
- Report: Vehicle Complexity, Labor ‘Reshaping’ Auto Insurance and Collision Repair