Accused man in 2003 killing remains unindicted in federal custody

The man charged with the slaying of an 18-year-old woman on the Hoh reservation in late 2003 remains in federal custody, with attorneys continuing to extend the deadline for filing an indictment.

Michael William Koch, 24, is being held at the federal detention center in SeaTac.

The case remains under investigation, and plea negotiations are under way, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court.

Koch is being investigated for the slaying of Tawnya LaVonne Tom, who was strangled Dec. 20, 2003, following a poker party she attended.

Koch, Tom’s boyfriend and another man were also at the party, according to federal investigators.

Three days after Tom’s death, Koch was charged by complaint in District Court with one count of murder.

He has not yet been indicted, and defense attorneys and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office have agreed to several extensions in the case.

Latest deadline: April 11

Most recently, U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Kelley Arnold on March 8 signed an order that would extend the time for filing an indictment against Koch to April 11.

The extension “would allow defense counsel to conduct necessary investigation and would allow the parties to conduct plea negotiations that might resolve this case in a manner desirable to both parties,” the order states.