(Image: SPD)
Seattle Police say they are investigating after the body of a man with fatal stab wounds was found Wednesday night inside an abandoned historic First Hill structure burned in a fire earlier this month.
Police say a 911 caller reported finding the body just before 8 PM in the 9th Ave Prosch House.
The interior and structure of the 1900-era rooming house part of the landmarked German Club property was charred and damaged in a December 2nd fire that swept through the old house.
The house property has been fenced-off since the blaze but its owners have been cited repeatedly over the years by the city’s vacant buildings program for allowing squatters and trash to accumulate on the site.
SPD says officers called to the 9th Ave house Wednesday night documented the scene and contacted the King County Medical Examiner’s Office to take custody of the body but did not recognize that the deceased person had been stabbed. “At the time, officers and investigators did not observe anything indicating the death was suspicious,” SPD reports. “However, the KCME later determined the cause of death to be a stab wound that was not immediately visible at the scene.”
UPDATE: East Precinct commander Capt. Eric Sano said the victim suffered multiple stab wounds and the body was heavily decomposed when it was reported by an anonymous 911 caller in an update on the case.
Neighboring the landmarked German Club used as a social center and commercial building for decades, the old boarding house has a history of tragedy. It was sold out from longtime family ownership to real estate investors in 2017 for $3.3 million with plans for a new multifamily structure to someday rise on the property.
Detectives are asking anyone with information that can help to contact the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000.
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