Jarod Thomas Lane, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and arson in the first degree during his arraignment hearing Wednesday morning at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle.
Jarod Lane, accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Scholl, in Renton and setting her family’s home on fire, kept his head low as he appeared in King County Superior Court just after 9 a.m. Wednesday.
During his arraignment on first-degree murder and arson charges, Lane said he understood the charges as he entered a not guilty plea at the King County courthouse in Seattle. Lane’s lawyer didn’t object to a no-contact order put in place to prohibit Lane from communicating with Scholl’s family. Scholl’s mother, father and other family members filled the courtroom benches. Following the arraignment, Scholl’s grandfather, Stan Sumida, read a statement on behalf of the family.
“This plea has left our family deeply hurt and saddened,” he said. “We hope and pray that the defendant would allow our family to begin to heal. Instead, his not guilty plea starts a prolonged trial that will continue to remind us of Jessica’s brutal and violent death.”
Lane is , in her home on May 25 and then setting the house on fire before fleeing to Oklahoma.
He was on May 28 and extradited to Washington state on Friday and booked into the King County Jail with bail set at $2 million.
Lane’s next court date is set for June 27.
