Man Confesses To Murder Says He Killed Locksmith After Finding Door Left Open

A man was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Ballard locksmith who left his apartment door ajar overnight to let the place cool down after a hot day.

Curtis Solomon, 39, is charged in the Wednesday slaying of John Eshom, 49, who was shot three times in the head. According to charging papers, Solomon also attempted to rape Eshom’s girlfriend.

Bail was set at $500,000 on Thursday.

Solomon told officers he had drunk a lot of beer Tuesday night and was walking home.

“I just put my hand on a doorknob. The door opened and the rest is history,” he told police in a tape-recorded statement taken after he was advised of his Miranda rights.

“I shot a person that I didn’t know and I killed him … it was just a random thing,” Solomon said, adding that he thought he had sex with a woman at the apartment.

Solomon was arrested near the apartment by officers responding to a 911 call from Eshom’s girlfriend.

The girlfriend, 48, told police she awoke early Wednesday when someone tried to rip her clothes off, according to charging papers.

When Eshom awoke and tried to intervene, he was shot by her attacker, she said. The assailant continued his efforts to rape her, but was unable to do so.

While he dressed, the girlfriend called 911.

When police arrived, they found - under bloody clothing in the apartment - a credit-card receipt from a local tavern signed Tuesday night by Solomon.

A .38-caliber revolver was found outside with three empty cartridges in the cylinder, according to charging papers. Solomon had a copy of a receipt in his wallet for such a weapon, bought in December 1995 at Butch’s Gun Shop, and the serial numbers matched.

“I’m sorry. I’m guilty. … I don’t know what possessed me to do that,” Solomon said. “Alcohol should be banned.”

A breath test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.1 percent.