A 30-year-old Oregon man pleaded not guilty Monday to a first-degree murder charge in connection with the May 21 stabbing death of Seth Frankel, a Kent city employee.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
William L. Phillip Jr., 30, of Portland, entered the not guilty plea through his attorney David Seawell at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Phillip remains in custody at the Regional Justice Center with bail set at $1 million.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Frankel, 41, a video-program coordinator for the city of Kent, was killed in his Auburn home. He was discovered the following day by a neighbor who was checking on his welfare, and who looked through a window, spotting the body.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“Yes, sir,” Phillip said in court after Judge Jay White asked him to confirm his identity as well as if he understood the charge against him. Phillip made no other comments.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Richard Frankel, the father of Seth Frankel<\/a>, traveled from his Hawaii home to attend the arraignment. Several other relatives and friends of Seth Frankel, who grew up in Hawaii, also attended the court proceeding. Richard Frankel said he did not want to make any comments to the media at this time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Seawell, the attorney for Phillip, said in a phone interview after the arraignment that he had no comment about the case until he had more time to review all of the evidence and documents connected with the murder charge.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “My lack of comment is because I just got discovery today,” Seawell said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n