Woman in custody after death

Caretaker investigated for second-degree murder

DIAMOND POINT — The caregiver for a man who died recently has been arrested for investigation of the second-degree murder of his daughter.

The caretaker, who told the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office detective her name is Aline Jones, was booked in the Clallam County jail under the name of Aline Wittekind. She had said she had recently changed her name, said Chief Criminal Deputy Amy Bundy.

The caretaker is 44 and will be in court for her first appearance today.

She was arrested Saturday after contacting the sheriff’s office and providing details of the death of Susan M. Ferrel, 65, of Nevada, Bundy said, adding that the sheriff’s office has no other suspects at this time.

The woman law enforcement accuses of being responsible for Ferrel’s death had been a live-in caretaker for a man who died earlier this month at the age of 93 and had continued to live in the home after he died.

Details of his death, including cause and his name, were not available.

Ferrel had traveled to Sequim, where she was staying in lodgings, about a week ago to settle her father’s estate, Bundy said.

On Thursday, deputies were asked to conduct a welfare check and found Ferrel deceased in the front yard of the residence on North Street at about 8:15 p.m.

Her cause of death was not available.

Due to the suspicious nature of the death, the Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Response Team was called out.

Detectives with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office investigated with the assistance of detectives from the Sequim and Port Angeles police departments, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team.

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team was deployed to assist with searching for evidence.

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John Barcellos, 61, left, next to his defense attorney John Hayden, was sentenced to 77 months in prison on Nov. 18 in Clallam County Superior Court for threatening to kill four children and attempting to elude law enforcement more than two years ago in a Sequim church parking lot. (Clallam County)
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