DNA from tossed cigarette cracks mysterious cold case rape, murder of mom found dead in bed: Report
Cold Cases
Suspect Richard Knapp was convicted of sexual assault in 1986 but his DNA was never entered into a database
Sex Crimes
April 23, 2019
Lyft driver kidnaps, sexually assaults multiple passengers, cops say
Authorities in Washington say a driver in the Seattle area has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman earlier this year and is facing additional allegations from behind bars. According to Fox News, Ghassan Shakir was arrested in Bellevue last week after police spotted his vehicle. He was wanted in connection with an …
AMBER Alert
April 23, 2019
DEVELOPING: ‘Dad’ barricaded inside home after stabbing ex and abducting their young son, who is alive, cops say
A Washington man accused of stabbing his estranged wife and abducting his own young son in an Amber Alert announced this week is barricaded inside of a home in St. John as of the latest updates available. As CrimeOnline previously reported, 5-year-old Ethan Robertson was found safe after 41-year-old Justin Robertson allegedly broke into Melissa …
April 21, 2019
Drunk driver with two kids on board rams another motorist in hit-and-run crash, cops say
Authorities in Washington say a woman was arrested on suspicion of causing a hit-and-run collision while driving drunk with two small children in the vehicle. According to KIRO, Kennewick police officers arrived on the scene of the crash near the intersection of North Irving Place and West Clearwater Avenue on Saturday. “The driver of one …
Murder
January 11, 2019
Felon drug addict beheads 2 women, then has teen nephew help light crime scene ablaze
A Washington man who admitted to killing two women and lighting the home he murdered them in on fire learned his fate in court this week. Matthew Ryan Leupold was sentenced to nearly 61 years on Thursday for the January 2017 slayings of Theresa Greenhalgh, 31, and Mary Buras, 22. The News Tribune reported that Leupold …
Animal Crimes
December 10, 2018
UPDATE: Two more sea lions found shot in head, bringing number to 18 dead since September
Authorities in Washington have confirmed that two more sea lions were found dead in Puget Sound last week—bringing the number of sea lions found dead in the area since September up to 18. KIRO reported that 12 of the 18 sea lions found dead in King and Kitsap counties were shot. Casey Mclean, from SR3, a local …
Sex Crimes
November 16, 2018
‘It’s a joke’: Outrage after man who admitted to raping dying teen gets less than 3 years behind bars
A Washington man who confessed to raping an 18-year-old woman as she suffered a deadly drug overdose was sentenced to less than three years in prison on Thursday. Per The Everett Daily Herald, Brian Varela, 20, will spend 34 months behind bars in connection with February’s death of Alyssa Noceda. Noceda overdosed after snorting crushed pills Varela, then 19, …
Murder
November 6, 2018
VIDEO: Father lunges at convicted felon accused of beating his young daughter to death
The father of a murdered 5-year-old girl was hauled out of a Washington court Monday after he reportedly lunged at his daughter’s accused killer. Ryan Burge, 37, is accused of causing severe head trauma that eventually killed his girlfriend’s daughter, Hartley Anderson, on Friday while her mother worked and her siblings were at school. Though Burge …
Homicide
November 2, 2018
Teacher kills partner, then self, one day before he was to appear in court for allegedly groping taxi driver: Police
Authorities say a teacher in Washington state fatally shot a romantic partner — also an educator in the same district — before turning the gun on himself in a suspected murder-suicide this week. According to Fox News, 37-year-old Dustin Altshuler and 35-year-old Laura Cole were found dead in their Kennewick home. Police initially responded to …
Celebrity Justice
September 1, 2018
Popular pro skateboarder gets drunk and stoned before high-speed crash kills one friend, injures another
A professional skateboarding star was sentenced this week in connection with a 2017 crash that left a passenger dead and other seriously injured. According to Fox News, 27-year-old Cory Kennedy was convicted of driving under the influence in a collision almost a year to the day before he was sentenced to four years behind bars. …
Animal Crimes
August 31, 2018
Community on edge after 13TH CAT found mutilated at hands of serial cat killer: Report
Police in Thurston County, Washington, confirmed that yet another cat was found mutilated outside this week, bringing the total of dead cats to 13. KING-TV reported that police discovered the 12th cat on Monday in Olympia on the 3800 block of Pacific Avenue after receiving reports of a cat found brutally slaughtered. Now, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office …
Violent Crime
August 10, 2018
Teen says she’s ‘happy’ to be alive after friend pushed her off 60-foot bridge
A Washington teen remains hospitalized days after cameras reportedly caught a friend pushing her off a bridge, leading her to plummet into the water 60 feet below. Jordan Holgerson, 16, told KATU from a hospital bed Thursday that she’s “happy to be OK” following an ordeal that left her with six cracked ribs and extensive internal …