d: 2007
Summary
Name:
Michael Anthony MullenNickname:
Agent LifeYears Active:
2005Status:
DeceasedClass:
MurdererVictims:
2Method:
ShootingDeath:
April 15, 2007Nationality:
USAd: 2007
Summary: Murderer
Name:
Michael Anthony MullenNickname:
Agent LifeStatus:
DeceasedVictims:
2Method:
ShootingNationality:
USADeath:
April 15, 2007Years Active:
2005Date Convicted:
March 10, 2006"I am not proud of taking two lives, I would have gladly just gave my own. But my death alone would have meant nothing."
— Michael Anthony Mullen
Michael Anthony Mullen was born in 1970. Mullen became focused on publicly available sex offender registry information. He used the Whatcom County sex offender registry website to identify Level 3 sex offenders in Bellingham, Washington. Level 3 offenders are considered at high risk of reoffending.
Mullen later claimed that the crimes of Joseph Edward Duncan III, a convicted sex offender involved in a separate Idaho case, influenced his decision to target sex offenders. Prosecutors described his explanations as attempts to justify planned killings.
On August 26, 2005, Michael Anthony Mullen went to a Bellingham, Washington home shared by three registered Level 3 sex offenders. He wore clothing that made him appear to be an FBI agent and used the false identity to enter the home.
The men inside the home were Victor Vazquez, Hank Eisses, and James Russell. Mullen claimed he was investigating a threat against sex offenders. Russell later left for work. When he returned, he found Vazquez and Eisses dead. Both men had been shot in the head.
After the killings, Mullen sent letters and online messages claiming responsibility. He said he had selected his victims from a sheriff’s sex offender registry website. Police also said he gave details about the crime that had not been publicly released.
On September 5, 2005, Mullen called 911 and surrendered to police. He was later charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder. Although the charges initially carried the possibility of death or life without parole, he later pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. On March 10, 2006, Mullen was sentenced to more than 44 years in prison. He was sent to Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Washington.
On April 15, 2007, Mullen was found unresponsive in his prison cell and later died. Initial reports investigated the death as a possible suicide, but later reporting stated that pneumonia was the immediate cause of death, with mild drug toxicity listed as a contributing factor and the manner of death undetermined.
