Cold Cases

This page contains information about unsolved cases under investigation by the Kirkland Police Department. Our goal is to keep these cases in the public eye and encourage anyone with knowledge of these cases to contact our Investigations Division. Even the smallest detail could help bring closure to victims and their families.

At this time, there is one open cold case, and we are seeking the community’s assistance in solving it.

John Schuoler (1983-2006) 

On Friday, September 15, 2006, 23-year-old John Austin Schuoler, was discovered by his roommate deceased in his bedroom. The cause and manner of death was ruled a homicide from blunt force trauma. Despite an exhaustive investigation, a suspect was not charged in the case and the investigation went cold.

At the time, John, who was known as John LeBar in high school, was living at the Sunset Shores apartment complex in Kirkland and worked at a local Kirkland restaurant. John was a local fixture in the Kirkland community. 

On the evening of Thursday, September 14, 2006, John was enjoying a rare day off of work. He met with a friend for lunch at Cucina-Cucina in Kirkland before heading to Bellevue where he did some clothes shopping at Old Navy.

At 3:47PM, John called and left a voicemail for his mother, Elaine “Lani,” Faye. This would be the last time Lani would ever hear her son’s voice.

John returned to his apartment sometime around 7:00PM. John visited with friends and his roommate in the apartment and communicated with others on his computer and cell phone until approximately 10:00PM. The following evening on September 16, Schuoler was discovered by his roommate when his roommate returned home from work.

Investigators found no evidence of forced entry into the apartment. Missing from John’s room was a hunter green “army style,” canvas backpack purchased at REI. Investigators suspect John’s killer is somebody that was known to him and not a random act of violence.

On August 3, 2012, Elaine “Lani” Piilani Kalanialii Ableidinger Faye, John’s mother, passed away without ever knowing the identify of her son's killer. At the time of her death, she remained convinced that those with information about John’s murder would eventually come forward to work with the Kirkland Police Department to solve the case.

Lani was laid to rest beside John, her only child, in the Sunset Hill Memorial Park & Funeral Home in Bellevue. Her tombstone bears the inscription that sums up the love she shared with her son, and a reflection of the sorrow she felt from his loss. “You live always within those you loved, and who loved you so deeply-your heart knows no bounds.”

The Kirkland Police Department is asking for your help to bring closure and justice for John and the rest of his surviving family.