Murder Suspect's Charges Dismissed In 1993 Killing Of Bothell Teen

The fate of a man charged in the abduction and killing of a Bothell teenager has changed, according to the Associated Press via KOMO.

Alan Edward Dean will be indefinitely committed to Western State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, per a ruling from a Snohomish County judge. Reporters added that first-degree murder charges against Dean were dismissed last week under a civil order.

The former Boeing mechanic was arrested back in July 2020 in connection to the 1993 homicide of 15-year-old Melissa Lee. His bail was set at $2 million at the time.

Undercover detectives obtained Dean's DNA, which was found to be a match with the DNA on a discarded cigarette found at the crime scene. The Everett Herald said Dean would've been 35 at the time of the killing.

Lee was reportedly found dead in a ravine on April 14, 1993 under Edgewater Creek bridge, far west of Everett city limits. Authorities said she appeared to have been sexually assaulted, as well. An autopsy confirmed she was strangled, and toxicology reports show she had had ethyl ether in her body, a substance used as an anesthetic.

AP noted that the charges can be filed again if the judge finds Dean competent to stand trial.

Photo: Snohomish County Sheriff's Office