A 22-year-old man has been arrested and will be charged with the murder of a 19-year-old Renton woman who has been missing for more than a year, police said Thursday.

Investiagtors say Ezekiel Watkins confessed Wednesday to a deadly stabbing attack on his ex-girlfriend Kathy Chou, who was last seen on April 18, 2010.

Chou's body has yet to be found, but investigators are now canvassing a field underneath power lines in south Renton, trying to find her remains.

Police say that is where Watkins admitted he lured Chou into a grassy area, pinned her to the ground during a fight, and repeatedly stabbed her in the chest and throat. He then buried her body with the help of friend, police allege.

The field is in the shadow of where Watkins lived -- about a quarter-mile away from his home. Watkins' family says police had already searched these same places soon after Chou disappeared.

"She first came missing, they had come to the house and asked us, and searched around with search dogs and stuff," said Norm Watkins, Ezekiel's father.

He says police even used lie detector tests before letting his son go free. But it was one of Watkins' friends who just two weeks ago told detectives that Watkins came to his house covered in blood and dirt 15 months ago. The other friend who police say helped bury Chou's body then filled in the pieces.

Soon, Watkins did the same. He told detectives Chou was causing trouble in his life by threatening his new girlfriend, and that the problems with her had been going on for about six months before he killed her.

"Following the interview, they came out here with the subject and he pointed out the place where he thought we'd be able to locate Kathy's remains," said Terri Vickers with Renton police.

But with changes in the terrain, it could take awhile before that happens.



http://renton.komonews.com/news/911/police-man-confessed-killing-missing-renton-woman/651675