King County prosecutors say a 46-year-old Kent man went to “extraordinary and terrifying lengths” to destroy evidence that he killed and dismembered a man inside his apartment nearly four years ago in an apparent drug-and-cash rip off.

Brian Mares was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder, accused of killing 36-year-old Austin Leming early on Dec. 8, 2021, dismembering his body with an electric saw and hiding his remains, which have never been found.

Mares was arrested in Des Moines on Monday and remains jailed in lieu of $5 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 24.

Witness statements, DNA evidence, cellphone records, bullet casings, a .380 pistol and a Rolex watch helped investigators build a case against Mares, who allegedly stole 5,000 blue fentanyl pills, a pound

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