Vaughn Hagen, a longtime Bellingham accountant with ties to the Blaine area, was killed on August 6 after attempting to clean the garage of a Custer home he was overseeing as an estate executor. The client’s son, Donald Edward Malone, 61, was arrested for first-degree murder a day later after going to the sheriff’s office and confessing that he shot Hagen multiple times.
“A man of great integrity and generosity,” wrote Hagen’s older sister, Vernene Scheurer, in a statement to The Northern Light describing her brother. “Someone who accepted all and had a strong sense of right and wrong.”
Malone told Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) detectives that Hagen, who was the executor of his mother’s estate and former accountant, had approached him at Birch Bay Square on August 6. Malone was still living at his parents’ house in the 3000 block of W. 75th Street in Custer, after their deaths, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. Hagen, who was driving a U-Haul, offered to help clean the garage.
In a public Facebook post, Hagen’s brother, Kevan Hagen, wrote that his brother met with Malone to discuss selling the house. Malone didn’t like what he was hearing, Kevan wrote, and left the meeting to go home.
Malone expressed dislike for Hagen, according to the sheriff’s office. Malone asked the accountant to give him a minute to purchase dinner from a grocery store, and after doing so, rode his bike home using backroads.
A few minutes after arriving home, Malone saw Hagen approaching on the driveway. According to Malone, he then retrieved a .22-caliber handgun and, without saying anything, shot Hagen at least five times outside of his home.
Malone said he thought neighbors would call 911, but law enforcement never arrived. At dusk, he moved Hagen’s body into the garage “so animals wouldn’t get it,” and then took a bath, according to court records.
The next morning, on August 7, Malone awoke surprised that law enforcement was not surrounding his home. He ate breakfast, caught a bus and traveled 14 miles to downtown Bellingham, blocks from Vaughn’s former office. He walked into the sheriff’s office and reported the murder.
Detectives went to Malone’s home, where they found the victim deceased.
When asked why he shot Hagen, Malone replied, “I don’t like him,” but didn’t explain further, according to court records.
Law enforcement arrested Malone and booked him into Whatcom County Jail for first-degree murder later that afternoon. Malone is being held in jail in lieu of a $2 million appearance bond, according to jail booking data. Malone’s arraignment, where he will formally be read his charge, was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, August 15.
Malone’s public defender, Saritha Anjilvel, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Born in Bellingham on August 20, 1954, Hagen was taught to be proud of his Norwegian heritage and had roots in Blaine and Birch Bay dating back to his maternal great-grandparents, who owned a 60-acre farm on Arnie Road. Hagen’s grandparents helped found the Free Church Unitarian in Blaine, where his mother, Arlene Anderson, accustomed the family to spend Sundays – a tradition that has lasted today for some family members.
The second eldest of five, Hagen spent his childhood moving across the state with his siblings as they followed their parents’ teaching careers. Hagen graduated from Moses Lake High School in 1972 and then received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Eastern Washington University.
A couple of years later, he moved to Juneau, Alaska, where he met Martha, whom he married in 1983. Hagen returned to Bellingham with Martha in 1989 to be closer to family. There, they reared their children, Matthew and Sarah, and Hagen started a CPA firm that he ran for over three decades. He recently spent several years living at Jacob’s Landing in Birch Bay before eventually moving back to Bellingham.
When he wasn’t working, Hagen loved watching sports, playing softball and was president of the Sons of Norway for many years. He attempted to climb Mt. Baker in 2012 and 2013 to raise money for the Kiwanis iodine deficiency disorder project and rode the Kiwanis float in the 2014 Rose Parade.
Hagen’s daughter took over his business when he retired at the end of June. As a retirement present, he purchased a 1950 red Ford truck that he drove in Blaine’s Fourth of July parade.
Hagen’s service will be held at the Free Unitarian Church, where he felt most at home and lived their values, Scheurer, his sister, said.
He is survived by his son Matthew, daughter Sarah; four siblings Vernene, Stephanie, Kevan and Kary; six grandchildren; former wives Martha Paradis Hagen and Lee Toler Lee; and aunt Judy and uncle Gary Dunster, among other relatives.
Hagen was a staple at the Anderson family reunion, which was held in the Blaine area during the same week every summer. Several days after his murder, his family gathered at Birch Bay State Park – this time a somber affair with only his memory.
“Conscientious,” Scheurer said, finding one last word to describe her younger brother. “His sudden and senseless death has left a large hole in our hearts and lives.”
This article was updated on August 13 with additional information from Hagen's family.
