Man arrested in connection with fatal Seattle bus driver stabbing

December 21, 2024 / 9:03 am

caption: A King County Metro bus station near a Sound Transit light rail station in the Seattle area.

53-year-old Richard Sitzlack was arrested Saturday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a King County Metro bus driver in the University District neighborhood on Wednesday. He is accused of stabbing Shawn Yim, 59, in the chest amid an altercation. Yim died at the scene.

The Seattle Police Department said a Metro driver flagged officers down near 3rd Avenue South and South Main Street Saturday morning to report that Sitzlack was aboard a bus sleeping. He was arrested shortly before 5 a.m.

KUOW doesn't typically name crime suspects until they've been formally charged, unless it's determined they could present a public danger. KUOW previously reported that Sitzlack was a suspect in Wednesday’s stabbing while he was still at large.

Officers responded on Wednesday to reports of a stabbing near 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 41st Street shortly before 3:00 a.m. They provided medical aid to Yim, who subsequently died from his injuries after walking a short distance from the bus. A police K9 search on Wednesday for Sitzlack was unsuccessful.

Officials with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office told KUOW Sitzlack was also connected to a fatal stabbing case in November 2023, which ultimately didn’t proceed because of a lack of evidence.

Sitzlack had called 911 from Cowan Park in the University District and waited for police to arrive. According to the prosecutor's office, Sitzlack told police he’d escaped from an apartment in the 5500 block of University Way Northeast, where he'd stabbed his roommate in what Sitzlack claimed was self-defense.

Prosecutor's office spokesperson Casey McNerthney said that despite some inconsistencies, “there was nothing to definitely prove that Sitzlack’s claim of self-defense was wrong.” McNerthney added that there's no statute of limitations for murder cases and the 2023 case could still move forward if new evidence emerges.