A 78-year-old Hazel Dell woman’s grandson and his friend strangled her to death with her purse strap and used her bank card to make purchases and cash withdrawals the day of her death, according to court records. Jordan M. Sullivan, 31, and Alyssa Williams, 30, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of first-degree murder and second-degree murder, respectively. A judge set Sullivan’s bail at $4 million and Williams’ bail at $3 million. They’re scheduled to be arraigned April 14. Prosecutors said neither had any criminal history. Clark County sheriff’s deputies responded at 9:41 p.m. Oct. 8 to the 9900 block of Northwest 26th Avenue. A woman called 911 to report she found her longtime neighbor, Patricia Jimerfield, strangled with her purse around her neck, according to a probable cause affidavit. Responders found Jimerfield dead, according to the sheriff’s office. There were no signs of forced entry or burglary at the home.

The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Jimerfield’s death a homicide and determined she died from strangulation by a ligature, court records state. Deputies spoke with Jimerfield’s grandson, Sullivan, about 2 a.m. Oct. 9. He told them Jimerfield had called him the evening before, and he and his friend, Williams, went to her house. He said they stayed for a few minutes, court records state. They also spoke with Williams, who never mentioned being at Jimerfield’s house earlier in the day. She said she didn’t know of any plans for Sullivan to visit Jimerfield that day. She said she last saw Jimerfield about a week before her death, according to the affidavit. Jimerfield’s home security log showed her front door opened at 12:18 a.m. Oct. 8. The door opened again three minutes later. The log also showed the front door opened about 6:45 p.m., around the time Sullivan said he and Williams visited, and again about an hour later. After that, there were no other log entries until 9:39 p.m., when Jimerfield’s neighbor entered the home and found Jimerfield dead inside, court records state.

Jimerfield’s family provided deputies with the woman’s bank account information, which investigators said showed fraudulent withdrawals and purchases Oct. 8 at an ATM in Vancouver and grocery stores in Oregon, the affidavit states. Surveillance video from the Oregon stores captured a man who matched Sullivan’s appearance using Jimerfield’s bank card. Deputies said Williams can be seen with him, according to court records. During a November interview with deputies, Sullivan and Williams said they went to Jimerfield’s house after midnight Oct. 8. They also confirmed they went to the grocery stores where Jimerfield’s bank card was used about 1 a.m. Oct. 8. They also said they went to Jimerfield’s house later in the day, around 6:45 p.m., according to the affidavit. Sullivan’s cellphone data matched those times and locations, according to court records. Investigators swabbed Jimerfield’s purse strap for DNA. The swab later returned a match for DNA belonging to Sullivan and Williams, the affidavit states.

An employee of an Oregon-based real estate consulting company told deputies Oct. 11 he had talked to Sullivan on Oct. 10 about Jimerfield’s house. The employee said he was suspicious of Sullivan, who said he owned the house through a transfer-on-death deed after his grandmother died days prior, according to court records. Investigators found record of the deed, completed in 2021, that listed Sullivan as the lone beneficiary of the house upon Jimerfield’s death, the affidavit states.