By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The suspect in last summer’s death of 16-year-old Austin King in Morton appeared briefly in court today as his trial date nears, however, attorneys are moving toward a plea agreement instead.
[1]Jack A. Silverthorne
“We’re working towards settlement,” defense lawyer J.P. Enbody said outside the courtroom.
An acquaintance, Jack Arnold Silverthorne, of Renton, is charged with first-degree murder and remains held on $2 million bail.
Silverthorne spent his 21st birthday on Saturday in the Lewis County Jail.
He is charged with first-degree murder and remains held on $2 million bail. He has pleaded not guilty.
The judge signed an order today allowing a crime lab test which will “consume some trace evidence”. Neither attorney described in court what the evidence was or what article it was found on.
[2]Austin King
The 16-year-old vanished from his family’s home in the Tilton River Mobile Home Park early on June 23 and was the subject of a month-long search headed up by volunteers. His body was found some 10 miles away off a logging road outside Morton. His skull was cracked.
Authorities believe Silverthorne – who was staying in the trailer park with his grandmother at the time – took Austin up into the woods, and his motive was related to an attraction to a girl, the mother of Austin’s child, according to charging documents.
His trial remains scheduled for the week of June 6.
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Read more about the case in “Morton homicide: Suspect had broken hand, victim had cracked skull” from Wednesday Nov. 10, 2010, here [3]