Tuesday, a jury found Tyler Wolfegang Savage, 21, guilty as charged, convicting him of Aggravated Murder in the First Degree. In 2010, the defendant raped and murdered 16-year-old developmentally disabled Kimberly “Kimmie” Daily, who functioned at the cognitive level of an 11-year-old. The defense claimed the death was an accident from a sex game gone wrong. The only possible sentence for the defendant is life without the possibility of parole.

“Justice was done,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist who tried the case with Chief Criminal Deputy Phil Sorensen and Deputy Prosecutor Jason Ruyf.  “We appreciate the jury’s verdict, we appreciate the way Judge Lee handled this difficult case, and we appreciate the closure this brings for the family and the community.”

On August 17, 2010, the defendant and the victim, who knew each other through mutual friends in their neighborhood, agreed on Facebook to meet.  Once together, they ended up in a vacant lot near the defendant’s home. When the victim tried to leave, the defendant put her in a choke hold from behind, subduing her. He then raped her and wrapped her bra and shirt around her neck, which he tightened, strangling her to death. After he killed her, the defendant tossed the victim’s body in blackberry bushes, threw her bicycle on top of her, and went home to play video games.

When the victim did not return home that day, an extensive search was initiated. The defendant lied to police and neighbors about her disappearance. After five days, the defendant finally gave a partial confession to police. He admitted on tape that he and Kimmie were together in the vacant lot and he killed her when she tried to leave.

At trial, the defendant testified that Kimmie wanted him to strangle her for sexual pleasure. In closing arguments, Lindquist and Sorensen argued this story was “fiction,” and pointed out many lies and implausible factors, including the defendant’s failure to tell this story to anyone during the five-day search for Kimmie or during his taped confession.

“Detectives and deputies from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department did excellent work on this difficult case that understandably troubled the community,” said Prosecutor Lindquist.

In rejecting the defense that Kimmie’s death was an accident resulting from a sex game, the jury found the defendant committed the murder in the course of rape, that the murder was sexually motivated, and that Kim was a particularly vulnerable victim.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, January 17, 2014 at 1:30pm in courtroom 315 of the County-City Building in Tacoma.