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Police are also asking the public to contact detectives with any
information that may aid the investigation.

By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle police returned Wednesday to the cluttered and filthy
home of three elderly brothers who each have been charged with
two counts of second-degree possession of depictions of minors
engaged in sexual conduct.

Detectives, their clothes covered in dirt, did a final sweep
through the brothers’ Meridian neighborhood home, which one
officer described as filthy and flea-infested. Family members
also had a vintage car towed from the property, and Seattle
firefighters boarded up a back entrance to secure the home.

It wasn’t immediately clear what police were looking for during
the search of the home the brothers have shared since 1962.
Charging papers filed against the men said an earlier search
turned up volumes of sexually explicit images and videos of
young girls, along with girls’ clothing, shoes, toys and
handwritten notes about girls being kidnapped, raped, tortured
and killed.

The brothers — Charles Emery, 82; Edwin Emery, 78; and Thomas
Emery, 80 — remain jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Meanwhile, authorities in Grays Harbor County on Wednesday said
they were working to establish a possible link between the
brothers and the 2009 disappearance of 10-year-old Lindsey Baum
in McCleary. However, authorities concede there is no specific
information to connect the two cases.

Wednesday’s search of the brothers’ Seattle home was likely
related to information contained in the charging papers filed
last week:

“At the time of filing, law enforcement is actively executing
search warrants and interviewing witnesses to determine the
extent of the defendants’ child exploitation crimes as well as
evidence of homicide,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Cecelia Gregson
wrote.

Neighbors say they are disturbed by the arrests of the men and
subsequent searches of the property.

“I’m just hoping that’s warped fantasy. It’s going to be
devastating if we find out otherwise,” Judy Powell, who has
lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, said Tuesday of the
charges against her neighbors.

Seattle police have asked the public to come forward with any
information that could aid the investigation by calling 206-684-
5259, or emailing wa.icac@seattle.gov.

Members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
(ICAC), which includes Seattle police detectives and agents with
Homeland Security, searched the brothers’ home for more than 30
hours starting Friday.

They reported finding sexual images of children throughout the
residence along with dozens of pairs of girls’ penny loafers,
panties and toys. They also found a single-serving vodka bottle
and a note indicating the alcohol had been given to a child
victim to facilitate her sexual abuse, according to the charges.

In the house’s crawl space, detectives also found a girl’s pink
hat partially buried in the dirt, along with a handwritten note
that had been burned but was similar to other notes in the house
about sex abuse and homicide, charging papers say.

Police have also searched a Shelton property owned by the
Emerys’ older brother, where Charles Emery had reportedly stored
some of his possessions. Public records show that the older
brother was 85 when he died in October.

According to Mason County property records, the deceased
brother’s three-bedroom home sits on 14 acres along State Route
3.

Grays Harbor County Undersheriff Dave Pimentel said his agency
is in contact with investigators in Seattle and Mason County to
see if there’s a possible link between the Emery brothers and
the disappearance of Lindsey as she was walking home from a
friend’s house.

There’s nothing specific to indicate a connection, but Grays
Harbor County investigators are interested in the Seattle case
because of the nature of the allegations against the brothers
and the proximity of the Shelton property to where Lindsey
vanished, Pimentel said, estimating the distance to be 20 to 25
miles.

The girl’s disappearance has been linked to several possible
persons of interest over the years, but there have been no
arrests in the case.

The charges against the brothers also note that Charles Emery
was a janitor at Seattle Children’s hospital from the 1970s
through the 1990s.

A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed Wednesday that Charles
Emery was employed there as a janitor, but because of the
passage of time officials are still working to determine his
dates of employment.

“We are devastated to hear this news, and our hearts go out to
the children and families involved,” Alyse Bernal wrote in an
email. “At this time, we are not aware of any connection between
his alleged crimes and Seattle Children’s. We are closely
following the investigation, and we will continue to be in
communication with the Seattle Police Department and King County
Prosecutor.”

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com.
Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this
story, which includes information from Seattle Times archives.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-police- again-search-home-of-3-brothers-charged-with-possessing-child-
porn/
 

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