Motel clerk who recognized murder suspect: 'He was very friendly'

Motel clerk who recognized murder suspect: 'He was very friendly' »Play Video
Leah Kallimanis

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. – Leah Kallimanis says she doesn’t feel like a hero; she just believes she did the right thing.

The property manager and clerk at the WestShore OceanFront Suites said she recognized double murder suspect Michael Boysen after seeing his photo on KATU News.

“Yesterday morning, I turned on the news when I first got up and saw a picture on your, actually your station,” she said. “Saw a picture of his face and then saw the name and did the ‘oh my gosh, he’s here.’”

Boysen checked into the motel at around 11 a.m. on Monday, just days after police said he was released from a Washington prison and allegedly killed his grandparents, who threw him a welcome home party. His grandparents’ deaths triggered a multi-state manhunt.

“I told my husband and we double-checked the computer just to make sure, and sure enough same guy, same name, and so we instantly called 911,” Kallimanis said.

She wasn’t afraid, she said, just shocked and surprised that a murder suspect was staying in her motel.

“It was kind of a little bit of a surprise too, because I talked with him when he checked in,” she said. “He was very friendly, had chatted for five minutes, you know, whatever. Friendly guy.”

Washington authorities said Boysen will return to the state to face murder charges.

“I think I did the right thing,” said Kallimanis. “Felt a little bad that he’s now going to rot in prison forever, but you know you do what you gotta do. When you have family, when you have people to take care of, you gotta turn someone in.”