The murder trial of a Bellingham woman alleged to have killed an Island County resident and dumped his body on Semiahmoo Spit began in Whatcom County Superior Court on January 26, setting in motion what will likely be a month-long trial.
Lynda Clare Mercy, 67, of Bellingham, faces one count of second-degree murder for the death of Thomas Flood, a 67-year-old man from Langley, who was found shot to death in April 2021.
Whatcom County chief criminal prosecutor Erik Sigmar and public defender Timothy Arnold made their opening arguments to the 12-person jury in the county courthouse on Monday morning, painting the scene for how they believed Flood’s death and the subsequent investigation unfolded.
Sigmar said people who knew Flood described him as a carpenter who kept to himself and lived out of his van near the Coupeville ferry terminal.
On the night of April 6, surveillance footage showed Mercy, who had just returned from Port Townsend, idling near the Coupeville ferry terminal. Sigmar said video footage showed Mercy getting into a ferry employee’s vehicle before being removed from the vehicle. She was then seen headed toward where Flood’s van was typically parked.
A partially crushed bullet casing was found near where Flood parked his van, Sigmar said, adding it was a .40-caliber casing that matched a gun registered to Mercy.
Flood was shot twice, with both bullets passing through his body. Despite this, Sigmar said neither shot would have been fatal had Flood received medical care.
Early the next morning, on April 7, two teenage boys who were staying at Semiahmoo Resort discovered what looked like a pile of debris next to a trail near the Semiahmoo Park parking lot.
Blaine Police Department quickly turned the investigation over to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators identified Flood by a pay stub found on his body and were able to ping his phone inside the van, which was parked at a church in Fairhaven. Sigmar said investigators discovered evidence of foul play and blood in the back of the van.
Investigators then tracked Flood’s phone data to see where the van traveled, which led them to surveillance footage of a woman at a Bellingham gas station, Sigmar said. The sheriff’s office requested the public’s help in identifying the woman, who Sigmar said several people identified as Mercy. One of Mercy’s friends called 911 to report that Mercy had given them a box with a gun and other objects in it, the prosecuting attorney added.
Cigarettes found in Flood’s van matched the ones Mercy had in her apartment. Sigmar said an expert witness would testify later that Mercy’s DNA was on the cigarettes in the van.
“The evidence will show Mr. Flood was shot in his van, where he slept. He was shot in his home,” Sigmar said. “The defendant took possession of his home, drove out to Semiahmoo, dumped Tom Flood out like trash on the side of the road.”
However, Arnold quickly made it clear to the jury that he did not believe the state had evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Mercy, describing most of the evidence as circumstantial.
“This is a story of association, possibilities and assumptions,” Arnold said. “And assumptions do the heavy lifting in this case. Association does not prove conduct.”
Arnold said prosecutors did not have direct evidence on who pulled the trigger, when Flood was shot, where Flood died and what firearm was used. He added there were no witnesses to Flood being shot.
Detectives only requested surveillance footage of Mercy and the van near the Coupeville ferry terminal, but they could have asked for all of the video to create a better picture of the events leading up to Flood’s death, Arnold said. The footage was erased after 45 days.
Defense said the red stains in the van were only assumed to be blood as the stains were not tested to confirm that they were blood or if they belonged to Flood. The investigators did, however, test what they believed to be blood found on a jacket in Mercy’s apartment, which turned out to not be blood.
“That goes to show you, they could have tested things,” Arnold said. “They could have known things, and they did not do that. They filled a gap with a guess and an assumption.”
Following opening arguments, the first key witnesses of the trial were called to the stand, including the first adults to find Flood and Mercy’s friend who was given the gun.
The affidavit of probable cause stated Mercy appeared in Blaine Municipal Court at 8 a.m. April 7, 2021.
Mercy has been held in Whatcom County Jail in lieu of a $1 million appearance bond since April 13, 2021, according to jail records.
At the time of Flood’s death, Blaine Police Department said it was the first homicide discovery within city limits in 39 years.
