Man arrested in Blaine on suspicion of murder

A man was arrested in Blaine in connection with the investigation of a vehicular homicide that allegedly took place on April 4 in Acme, Washington.

At around 8 a.m. on April 4, two dog walkers at Acme’s South Fork Park called 911 after noticing what appeared to be a human body lying in the middle of a gravel access road in the park, according to a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) news release.

WCSO deputies arrived on scene and discovered that the victim had suffered significant trauma. They began an investigation and asked for people to contact the WCSO tip line if they had any information about what may have occurred in the park between 6 p.m. on April 3 and 8 a.m. on April 4.

After notifying next of kin, WCSO identified the victim as 21-year-old Darian Sather of Sedro-Woolley. “Ms. Sather received serious traumatic injuries after it appears that she was struck by a motor vehicle in a parking area” at the park, said an update provided by WCSO. “Ms. Sather and two friends had gone to the park to meet with several other individuals between the hours of 6 and 7 a.m. [on April 4]. During the course of the meeting, the other individuals attempted to steal $250 from Ms. Sather and she attempted to stop them by reaching into the vehicle to grab her money back. The suspects took off at a high rate of speed with the victim clinging to the door. As they attempted to flee, Ms. Sather fell from the door and was struck by the vehicle and killed.”

While investigating the case, WCSO detectives obtained information that led them to believe a Whatcom County man had been driving the vehicle that struck and killed Sather. At approximately 2:15 a.m. on April 6, members of WCSO contacted 47-year old Brent Gerber at a location in the 8400 block of Harborview Road in Blaine. He was taken into custody without incident and his white 2000 Mazda truck was seized as evidence and impounded.

Gerber was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on investigation of first-degree murder. As of April 7 at 9:30 a.m., WCSO was seeking the public’s help in locating an additional suspect, 25-year-old Payton Mulryan. Mulryan was described as a Caucasian male who is six feet tall and weighs 160 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He normally hangs out in the Lynden, Everson and Bellingham areas, WCSO said. If you have information on Mulryan’s whereabouts or the incident, please contact 911 or the WCSO tip line at 360/778-6663.