King County prosecutors Friday charged a Bothell man with second-degree murder domestic violence, accusing him of killing a 20-year-old woman he dated inside her Seattle townhouse.
Liliya Guyvoronsky died from apparent strangulation, but her official cause of death is pending, according to the charges filed against James McNeal, 58. It is unclear when she was killed but the charges say she had been “deceased for some time” when Seattle police They were called to her home Tuesday.
Prosecutors are requesting that McNeal, a former member of the Bothell City Council, be held in jail in lieu of $3 million bail. He is scheduled to be rooted May 14.
Guyvoronsky was working as a stripper when she met McNeal, but she quit several months ago and McNeal was financially supporting her, giving her an estimated $10,000 a month, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gretchen Holmgren wrote in charging papers.
Inside Guyvoronsky’s townhouse in the 4600 block of South Orchard Street, investigators found “handwritten notes reminding her not to have contact with the defendant, describing him as mentally and emotionally abusive, and recording details about how he made her feel so she would not forget it ,” Holmgren wrote.
Jan Olson, a Seattle criminal defense attorney retained by McNeal, called 911 to report a “likely homicide” from outside Guyvoronsky’s townhouse just before 4 pm Tuesday, the charges say.
Olson identified McNeal as his client to the 911 operator and told the operator the purpose of the call was “to have … law enforcement become involved,” according to the charges.
When police arrived at the scene, the attorney called McNeal, who came out of the townhouse, his clothing covered in blood, and he was detained, charging papers he said.
Officers found Guyvoronsky’s body in her bedroom, saying the charges. No one else was inside. McNeal was arrested and taken to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for injuries consistent with self-inflicted cuts to his wrists, the charges say.
Olson did not immediately return phone messages Friday seeking comment.
Police learned from Guyvoronsky’s parents that Guyvoronsky’s relationship with McNeal was “constantly off and on,” that he bought her dresses and shoes and they went on dates and attended parties together, the charges say.
Her mother told police the couple had a big fight over expenses April 27 and broke up; she said Guyvoronsky described McNeal as having “an annoying tantrum” and attempting to control and punish her, according to the charges.
In a text message to her family, Guyvoronsky described their typical pattern: McNeal would get mad, she would give him the silent treatment and then he would blow up her phone with “love bombing,” desperate to get her back, and buy her expensive presents, the charges say.
“We go through this, Like once a month,” Guyvoronsky reportedly wrote, according to the charges.
McNeal was elected to the Bothell City Council in November 2015 and spent two terms in the Position 4 seat.
In 2023, he opted to run for the Position 2 seat against incumbent Mason Thompson “to ensure our community voice is being heard,” he wrote in an email at the time. He lost with 39% of the vote.
McNeal was a founding member of OneBothell, a citizens group formed to prevent the development of the former Wayne Golf Course, which was slated for construction of a 50-home neighborhood but instead sold to a conservation group in 2015.
Information from Seattle Times’ archives is included in this story.
Help for domestic-violence survivors
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you have been abused by an intimate partner, you can call the 24-hour National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 (TTY). A variety of agencies in the area offer assistance, including confidential shelters, counseling, child therapy and legal help. For a list of resources, visit the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s website.
