A Snohomish County jury convicted David Craft on Aug. 25, of premeditated first-degree murder in the killing of his 71-year-old landlord, Daniel Lytton, whose body was found wrapped in linens and tape in a downtown Everett alley in November 2025.

Craft faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.

The verdict, delivered after nearly two full days of deliberation, ended a trial that lasted more than two weeks in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Craft, 41, was convicted on all three felony counts: premeditated first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, second-degree murder in the course of a felony with a deadly weapon and second-degree murder with intent to cause death.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 29 in Snohomish County Superior Court. Under Washington law, first-degree murder carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years of total confinement; the actual term could be longer depending on enhancements for the deadly weapon finding.

How the case unfolded

Text messages presented at trial showed Craft asked Lytton to come fix a toilet at his Grand Avenue rental unit on the morning of Nov. 5, 2025. Lytton's body was found roughly 24 hours later in an alley off Rucker Avenue, wrapped in layers of bedsheets, blankets, towels, curtains, tape and wires.

Detectives said Lytton was strangled, stabbed, bound and beaten.

Prosecutors said Craft used a handcart to move the wrapped body through alleyways in the middle of the night. Late-night security footage showed an indistinct man with similar features and clothing to Craft pushing a wrapped object along the route between Craft's home and where the body was discovered, according to the Everett Herald.

Everett police arrested Craft less than a week after the killing. He was held on a $2 million bond.

The evidence

The prosecution built its case on physical evidence and Craft's own statements. Receipts from Lytton's wallet were found in a trash can inside Craft's home.

Towels and sheets in the apartment matched linens found with the body. Washington State Patrol crime lab analysis linked blood traces inside Craft's apartment to Lytton and found Craft's DNA on items discovered with the body.

Craft told police he saw Lytton get into a van on Grand Avenue and drive away. Everett police Detective Todd Israel testified that no van matching that description appeared in hours of surveillance video.

In text messages shown at trial, Craft allegedly told his mother police would be looking for him the day after Lytton's body was found.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Kristina Beske-Keplinger told the jury during closing arguments that Craft had identified himself as a suspect before law enforcement or anyone else had.

Prosecutors also presented apparent suicide notes found at a family property in Lake Stevens, where Craft went after the killing. The letters stated his mistakes had added up and that he was "screwed."

No motive was established. Deputy prosecuting attorney Tyler Scott told the jury during closing arguments that prosecutors may never know why Craft killed Lytton, but they know why he took the actions he did afterward to conceal the crime.

The defense

The defense rested without presenting a case. Craft did not testify.

Public defenders Rachel Forde and Ali Burton argued the investigation was flawed and focused prematurely on one man.

They said the laundry could have been stolen from an open laundry room, that DNA and receipts were explained by Lytton's visit to fix the toilet, and that police failed to investigate a man seen using Lytton's credit cards. No murder weapon or wallet was ever recovered.

"The police have left us with so many unanswered questions, because the investigation was not a genuine effort to find the killer," Burton said during closing arguments. "It was a team of five men collecting evidence to support what they already believed."

What's next

Residents who want to attend the sentencing hearing can do so at Snohomish County Superior Court on Sept. 29. The judge will determine the final sentence at that hearing.