Portland - A man accused of killing his live-in girlfriend and posting photos of her lifeless body online was headed back to Washington State after he surrendered to an officer in neighbouring Oregon and waived extradition.
David Kalac, aged 33, was arrested on Wednesday night nearly 322km from the crime scene after a daylong manhunt. He was held overnight in Portland on a second-degree murder charge, authorities said.
On Thursday, Kalac waived extradition and was being transported back to Port Orchard, Washington, west of Seattle.
Authorities allege Kalac killed Amber Lynn Coplin, aged 30, after an argument in their Port Orchard apartment.
He then posted graphic photographs of her body and commented about the killing online, said Scott Wilson, a sheriff's deputy in Kitsap County, Washington. The images appeared on 4chan, an online bulletin board where hundreds of private pictures of nude celebrities appeared earlier this year.
Kalac wrote about strangling the woman and his plan to be fatally shot by police. He posted the comments and photos anonymously, but authorities confirmed they were from him, Wilson said.
The Kitsap County coroner's office said on Thursday the cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head.
The county prosecutor's office didn't know yet if Kalac has an attorney. His first court appearance could be as early as Friday.
13-year-old son
Kalac evaded police in Coplin's stolen car until he emerged from a wooded area near Wilsonville, about 32km south of Portland, and turned himself in to a passing officer, authorities said.
"He basically said, 'I have a warrant for my arrest'", sheriff's sergeant Nate Thompson said in a telephone interview. Kalac was co-operative but provided no details about how he got to Wilsonville, he said.
Two Washington deputies went to Oregon to question Kalac and escort him back for booking into jail, Wilson said.
"The fact he voluntary walked up and said, 'I surrender' or something to that effect, it's pretty amazing in some regard", Wilson said on Thursday. "We were not expecting that, but we're glad it occurred in that matter."
Police responded to the couple's apartment after Coplin's 13-year-old son found her body.
Near Coplin's head was her driver's license with the word "dead" written on it. "Bad news" was written on blinds. And the words "she killed me first" were scrawled on a picture on the wall.
An officer spotted Coplin's car early on Wednesday in Portland and tried to pull over the driver. A chase ensued but was called off because the vehicle was swerving into oncoming traffic.
Kalac has a criminal history in Washington State and Virginia that includes convictions for assault, burglary and drunken driving, Wilson said.
