Why is the Clearview, Washington area so murdery, by episodes?

Clearview is an unincorporated community in Snohomish County, about half an hour north of Seattle. It was platted on old timberland in 1913 and renamed in 1931 for its view of the mountains. For part of 1861 it was the county's temporary seat, and in 1894 an election to move the seat to Everett was riddled with illegal voting. In 2019 the population was 3,907.

The eight murders in the Clearview area come in three episodes across three towns. Episode 113 stays at home: two cases in Clearview, in 1974 and 1982, and four victims. Episode 583 goes ten miles to Kirkland for three murders in the summer of 1990. Episode 624 reaches Freeland, 23 miles out, for one killing on 26 December 2003.

No single episode carries the count. The hotspot is a scatter of towns within 25 miles of one another, and the cases run from the 1970s to the 2000s with long quiet stretches between. Clearview's time as the county seat is long gone. It still tops Washington.