Bite, scratch marks on inmate

MONROE, Wash. – An inmate suspected of strangling a female guard in a prison chapel had bite marks on his fingers and what appear to be scratch marks on his buttocks, according to court papers filed Tuesday.

Byron Scherf had scratch marks on his right buttock that were unlikely to have been made through his heavy prison-issued pants, according to a search warrant return filed by a Monroe police detective.

Investigators believe the marks indicate he had his pants down during the fatal attack Saturday night on guard Jayme Biendl at the Monroe Correctional Complex, a state prison about 30 miles northeast of Seattle.

Scherf, 52, is a convicted rapist serving life without parole.

Police said there was no evidence that Biendl, 34, was raped. The guard was fully clothed when she was found, even wearing her coat, police spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.

The bite marks on Scherf’s fingers are consistent with defensive wounds, the court document said.

The inmate also had “visible blood on his hands and marks across the palms of both hands” consistent with someone using a ligature to strangle a victim. Drops of blood were found on his clothing, and investigators took samples of his hair and fingernails.

Biendl’s body was found on the stage of the small chapel, an amplifier cord wrapped around her neck, Willis said.

The inmate was transferred Tuesday to the Snohomish County Jail, where he will remain during the investigation, the Washington state Department of Corrections said.

After the death was discovered and the inmate was locked in a segregation cell, a tearful Scherf reportedly apologized to two guards who were watching him.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened,” he said, according to the court document. He then asked for a tetanus shot because of a bite wound to his finger.

Records showed Scherf refused to let investigators examine his pelvic area without a more specific search warrant.

Scherf was missing during a head count shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday. He was found at 9:20 p.m. in the lobby outside the chapel.

He told guards he had hidden under a table and planned to escape because he was tired of serving a life sentence. He said the blood on his jacket and T-shirt came from being “jumped” by other inmates that day.

Shortly after 10 p.m., corrections workers realized Biendl’s two-way radio and handcuffs hadn’t been turned in. Her shift in the chapel ended at 9 p.m. but nobody was scheduled to relieve her; co-workers found her body at the chapel.