Justin M.G. Bacani was ordered held on $5 million bail Wednesday in King County Court, where he faces a second-degree murder charge for the February strangulation death of Annelise Harrison in a vacant Bellevue apartment.

The 35-year-old Seattle transient was reported to have been dating Harrison in February, when prosecutors allege he strangled the 29-year-old woman inside a Ridgedale Apartment unit under construction on the 14000 block of Southeast Sixth Street, later attempting to clean up the crime scene.

Maintenance workers found Harrison’s body propped up against the toilet in an apartment under renovation at Ridgedale on Feb. 7, having responded to the unit for a sewer backup reported on the ground floor. Cellphone records later showed Harrison had been in the area where her body was found since Feb. 2.

According to charges filed Tuesday, police found several signs of a struggle, including Harrison’s disheveled clothing and multiple marks found on the newly painted hallway, baseboards and flooring inside the apartment.

Blood was also found around the apartment, which investigators later positively identified as belonging to Harrison and Bacani, according to court documents. Bacani’s DNA was allegedly matched to blood found on the front-door deadbolt to the apartment unit.

Investigators found a cellphone on Harrison and called the last number dialed, allegedly reaching Bacani, who refused to answer questions and hung up.

Bacani was later identified as the man in King County Metro security footage, hanging out with Harrison at the Westlake Transit Center in Seattle on Feb. 1, according to documents, the couple later getting on a bus bound for Bellevue. Footage shows they arrived at the Bellevue Transit Center just before midnight.

Security footage from Sammamish High School allegedly shows Bacani and Harrison  walking southbound toward the Ridgedale Apartment complex around 12:30 a.m. Feb. 2.

Bacani was identified by a state Department of Corrections officer, who supervised his probation. His cellphone number was identified as the same one Harrison last called before her death, according to court documents.

Bacani was arrested Feb. 20 on a DOC warrant.

Bellevue Police arrested Bacani from the King County Jail on Monday, booking him on one count of second-degree murder. He waived his first appearance Tuesday, where bail was set at $2 million. Bail was increased to $5 million on Wednesday. His next court appearance is set for June 25.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office reports Bacani could face life in prison under Washington’s “Three Strikes” law.

Strange calls

Court documents state Bacani dialed 911 three times in the early hours of Feb. 2, the first to have his name and date of birth recorded, as well as a request to have his location triangulated.

The second call — two hours later — was seven seconds and included a male’s voice and what appeared to be a woman’s, making noises that sounded like she was struggling, according to a police report.

Bacani allegedly called a dispatcher 30 minutes later to report he was in an apartment on 140th Avenue Southeast, and there was a man with a gun outside. He said he was with a woman named Rachel and that she was sleeping. Bacani added he felt “paranoid” and that he was being “set up,” documents state.

“I kill to protect myself but I already got two strikes, so I don’t want to go there,” Bacani told a dispatcher, according to court documents, when asked if he had a weapon. “I will protect myself,” he later allegedly stated when the dispatcher repeated the question, ending the call afterward.

Police responded to the area, but were unable to locate the caller.

During the last recorded call, investigators noted a smoke alarm beeping in the background was similar to the one making noise inside the apartment where Harrison was found, documents state.

Hit-and-run

During their investigation, detectives learned that a 911 call was made in Seattle on Feb. 3, where a woman reported a hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian. In that call, a police body camera was used, and shows Bacani allegedly wearing the same clothes as he was the day before, documents state. He was also reportedly carrying a bag Harrison had been seen holding in security footage from Feb. 2.

According to a police report, investigators determined Bacani’s cousin made the 911 call for him, so he could avoid meeting with his probation officer.

Original story

Bellevue Police report a 35-year-old suspect in the February strangulation death of Annelise Harrison was arrested Monday.

Harrison, 29, was found inside an empty Ridgedale Apartment unit along 141st Court Southeast on Feb. 7, about three days after she is believed to have died. Maintenance workers found Harrison, after responding to reported flooding in the building. Police reported at that time Harrison was found without identification.

Police report Justin M.G. Bacani was arrested Monday for second-degree murder, adding signs of a struggle were detected during the investigation, as well as evidence someone had tried to clean up blood inside the apartment. Bacani became a suspect after multiple search warrants were executed by the BPD, according to a news release.

Bacani remains in custody at the King County Jail, and bail has been denied. He is set for a first appearance 2:30 today in Courtroom 1 at the jail.