City Councilman, in Washington state called police on himself after he strangled his mistress, 38 years his junior, to death on Tuesday

Photo of Bothell City Councilman James McNeal covered in blood being arrested Tuesday at a Seattle home on suspicion of murder was shared online

McNeal, 58, has been accused of strangling to death Liliya Guyvoronsky, when she tried to leave their ‘toxic’ relationship

He then slashed his wrists before asking his lawyer to call police to arrest him, 24 hours after Liliya Guyvoronsky was killed

Guyvoronsky, a 20-year-old stripper, was found naked and strangled in her Seattle bedroom Cops also found

Cops found a handwritten to-do list dated April 29, in her home which included ‘do not interact w/James today’ as its last item

Messages and voice notes to friends reveal how she tried to leave him

During a court a day later, a King County judge found probable cause to charge McNeal with second-degree murder

A photo of Bothell City Councilman James McNeal’s arrest on suspicion of murder was shared online. The 58-year-old was seen covered in blood. Police said McNeal had self-inflicted wounds on his wrists after strangling his 20-year-old stripper mistress, to death

A young Washington state woman it has been ported, was strangled in her bed by her sugar daddy, a city councilman 38 years her senior after she tried to leave the toxic relationship.
The alleged killer, James McNeal, a former Bothell City Council member slashed his wrists before asking his lawyer call police to arrest him, 24 hours after Liliya Guyvoronsky he allegedly killed his 20-year-old mistress.
McNeal, 58, was arrested at his home in South Seattle on Tuesday night and charged with murder.
The young woman said in messages sent to friends that McNeal was controlling, got angry when she said no to him, and once told her would ‘sex traffic’ her.
According to the police report, around 3 p.m. Tuesday, McNeal’s attorney called to report a “likely homicide” from outside the victim’s home according to a police report.
Responding officers arrived at the scene to find McNeal with both “fresh and dry blood” on his clothes.
Entering the house, officers found Liliya Guyvoronsky naked in bed, on her back covered by bedding.

Murdered: Liliya Guyvoronsky, 20, was found dead in her South Seattle home, naked and strangled, after she tried to leave a toxic relationship with her much older boyfriend. Cops found a handwritten to-do list dated April 29 in her home which included ‘do not interact w/James today’ as its last item

She had injury marks on her neck, forehead, and under her jaw and police believe she was strangled.
There was blood on the headboard, pillow and carpet.
While the photo of McNeal’s arrest shows the councilman covered in blood, police said McNeal had self-inflicted wounds on his wrists. Officers also found a handwritten to-do list dated April 29 in the home which included ‘do not interact w/James today’ as its last item.
Meanwhile McNeal who was arrested is currently listed in “satisfactory” condition at Harborview Medical Center.
During a court hearing a day later, a King County judge found probable cause to charge McNeal with second-degree murder. The suspect did not appear in court and bail was not addressed.

Toxic together: Liliya Guyvoronsky [left], in messages she sent to friends, revealed that her sugar daddy James McNeal, [right], was controlling, got angry when she said no to him, and once told her would ‘sex traffic’ her

In messages to a friend prior to her death, Liliya Guyvoronsky detailed how she was unhappy with the relationship, [with McNeal], and wanted to end it.
‘It’s f**ked up. He got me to have sex. I was celibate for a year and a half and I was not ready. I didn’t really want to,’ she wrote.
‘But he forced a relationship and really pushed me, and honestly, really affected my mental health because I got really depressed and it triggered all my bad emotions from my past.
‘I thought I could never be played again but now I’m realizing he played a different game on me that I was not aware of and it really caught me off guard.’

Former Bothell City Council member James McNeal, 58, slashed his wrists and had his lawyer call police to arrest him about 24 hours after allegedly murdering his young mistress

Guyvoronsky [photo], was found naked in her bed, with strangulation marks and blood everywhere. Apprehensive of McNeal, she’d complained to a friend, ‘It’s f**ked up. He got me to have sex. I was celibate for a year and a half and I was not ready. I didn’t really want to’

Guyvoronsky told her friend how McNeal, who recently broke up with his wife with whom he has three children, pursued and manipulated her.
‘He is really controlling and I can tell he thinks I’m stupid because I am young,’ she wrote.
‘He thinks he’s smarter and he picked me and pursued me very strategically. And he was really smart about it and he really did succeed. Unbelievable.
‘He’s been grooming me this whole time, trying to reprogram me to think about myself so I don’t expect anything.
‘Don’t ask, be easy, give him what he wants to get away with low effort and bad behavior. I’m not that dumb tho (sic), he will realize this won’t work.
‘He doesn’t like older women for a reason, and I know why. They will challenge him and be harder to control.’

Councilman McNeal who was married. The murder suspect recently split with his wife [photo], with whom he shares three children

Guyvoronsky relayed to her friend the realization that McNeal pursued and manipulated her. ‘I thought I could never be played again but now I’m realizing he played a different game on me that I was not aware of and it really caught me off guard’

She said she tried to change and be self-aware since she went to rehab and had changed for the better since then to know her worth. 
Guyvoronsky also sent a voice message to a friend, posted online by Jonathan Choe, updating her on how the relationship was going and the toxic dynamic between them.
She said McNeal pursued her so strongly because ‘I’m a challenge, I’m not like other girls’ and she would ignore him for whole days.
‘He can get me gifts I’m not gonna be over here oh so excited. I just act like… he does not faze me, it’s not like I’ve never met a rich guy in my life, I’ve grown up with my dad,’ she said.
‘I will say no to him, I am firm with him, and because of that challenge that’s why he’s still here pursuing me, he’s so into me.’

‘He forced a relationship and really pushed me …. really affected my mental health, because I got really depressed’. Messages to a friend detailed how Guyvoronsky was unhappy with the relationship and wanted to end it

Guyvoronsky explained how McNeal got angry when she refused him and and was lying to her, though didn’t explain what about.
‘He’s trying to put me in a place where he has all the access he wants, for nothing. But I’m not ok with that,’ she said.
‘He hates the push back, he always says I challenge him and he gets so frustrated… he gets mad with the fact that he can’t get away with some of these things.
‘I’m not an idiot, James I know when you’re lying to me. You don’t like confrontation, I know that, who likes it, and I know you’re never going to admit that you did that but I do know what you’re doing.’
Guyvoronsky said she was still seeing him because it was an intriguing ‘roller coaster’ and described how he ‘made up characters’.
‘He pretended he was a sex trafficker at one point and he was going to sex traffic me. I had a felling it was bulls**t but I stuck around because I wanted to hear the end of the story,’ she said.
‘This guy is just crazy. The games he plays is crazy, and it’s fun, and I’ll play it back to him.’

Guyvoronsky explained how McNeal got angry when she refused him and and was lying to her, though didn’t explain what about, adding that she was still seeing McNeal because it was an intriguing ‘roller coaster’

Apparently the unfortunate young woman had no end of troubles. Her neighbor revealed she’d moved there to get away from a stalker. Court records show she took out a protective order last April against one Amal Kazimi

However, she said she was getting bored with the relationship because he’s not giving her what she wants and ‘I won’t settle for less’. 
‘I want a lot in my life, I want to be living like a f**king queen and if he’s not going to be providing that? Guess what,’ she said.
‘He thinks maybe one day I’ll just accept it, no, I’m not gonna accept it, I don’t care.’
Guyvoronsky said he told her ‘you can’t get another guy’ and that she’s ‘so lucky he puts up with me’.
‘I’m not lucky, guys will put up with me abusing them, so what are you talking about?’ she responded.

Overbearing and domineering: An unhappy Liliya Guyvoronsky [right], said James McNeal, [left], told her ‘you can’t get another guy’ and that she’s ‘so lucky he puts up with me’

McNeal’s lawyer Jan Olson’s call to 911 was included in the police report, in which he told the operator he was outside the house and hadn’t gone in.
‘I’m an attorney. I am reporting what is a likely homicide… I represent someone inside the residence and am making the call,’ he said.
He said he couldn’t comment further due to being a lawyer, but that it sounded like there was someone dead inside.
McNeal was taken to Harborview Medical Center where he is in a ‘satisfactory’ condition but missed his first court date as he was still being treated there.

‘He is really controlling and I can tell he thinks I’m stupid because I am young,’ Guyvoronsky wrote in a message to a friend, complaining about McNeal who at 58 was 38 years older

Neighbors report seeing McNeal visit Guyvoronsky and bring food inside: “I knew he had a pickup truck. It was strange to see someone that old hanging out with her,” Alex Grimes said. Another neighbor adds that the young woman moved there to get away from a stalker with court records showing that she took out an order of protection against one Amal Kazimi, last April.
McNeal who worked in construction for 27 yea, was a city councilor for eight years until he was defeated by Mayor Mason Thompson 63 to 37 percent in last year’s November’s election. He left office on December 31, 2023.

McNeal [photo], was a city councilor until he was defeated by Mayor Mason Thompson 63 to 37 percent at November’s election. He left office on December 31, ending his eight-year tenure

The former councilman’s criminal history was documented in detail by the local Bothell Reporter in 2015 when he ran for election.
A felony conviction for eluding police in 1986 when he was 19, he claimed was the result of years of racial harassment by police. Once charged with tax evasion running his construction business, he also has two prior misdemeanor convictions for reckless driving and assault.