Police Have Few Clues In Park Killing Detectives Pursue ‘All Possibilities’ After Deputy’s Wife Is Killed In Apparent Robbery Attempt

Despite an extensive search and hundreds of interviews, police had few clues Monday in a South Hill shooting that killed a Spokane mother of five.

Patty DiBartolo died Saturday night after being shot during an apparent attempted robbery at Lincoln Park.

Her husband, off-duty sheriff’s deputy Tom DiBartolo, was wounded.

Police Chief Terry Mangan said Monday investigators have very little to go on after knocking on nearly 200 doors in the area and searching a park pond for the murder weapon.

Three people detained for questioning after the shooting have been released and are not considered suspects, Mangan said.

Tom DiBartolo’s account of the shooting still is being investigated. The deputy told detectives he and his wife were attacked as they walked back to their van after strolling through the park to look at the city lights.

One of the two would-be robbers brandished a snub-nosed .38-caliber revolver, according to DiBartolo.

The 41-year-old deputy said he struggled with the gunman before the man fired two shots.

Patty DiBartolo, 39, was pronounced dead at Sacred Heart Medical Center after being driven there by her husband.

Mangan said the bullet that hit the deputy’s abdomen caused an “in-and-out flesh wound.” DiBartolo was released from the hospital Sunday morning.

On Monday, police divers spent several hours at the bottom of the shallow Lincoln Park pond, looking for the steel-blue revolver.

Police also released descriptions of the two alleged attackers.

The deputy described one as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds and in his late teens or early 20s. He was wearing a three-quarters-length black jacket with the word “Sox” emblazoned on it in white.

DiBartolo, an 18-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, could only describe the second man as taller and heavier than his cohort, Mangan said.

The chief said DiBartolo was unable to provide information about the suspects’ race. “It was dark out there,” Mangan said. “All this happened really fast.”

Detectives are treating the case as a botched robbery but are investigating “all other possibilities,” Mangan said.

“At this point, we’re not ruling anything in or anything out.”

Pathologists completed an autopsy on Patty DiBartolo’s Monday afternoon, but the results won’t be released until today, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

The DiBartolos’ van and clothing also will be analyzed for clues, Mangan said.

“We’re trying to perform an open, objective, painstaking investigation,” he said.

An Explorer helping police look for evidence Monday found a bullet in a tree near where the shooting occurred, Mangan said. The bullet came from DiBartolo’s service weapon - a semiautomatic Glock handgun.

The deputy told investigators he grabbed the gun from his van and fired at the fleeing suspects following the attack. He wasn’t sure if he hit either man.

DiBartolo took family leave Monday and could not be reached for comment. Sheriff John Goldman also could not be reached.

Employees at Telco Credit Union, where Patty DiBartolo worked as a computer banking expert for the last two years, set up a trust fund to raise money for the couple’s five children.

Donations can be made at the credit union, 428 W. Third in Spokane.

“She was well-liked here with the employees and the members alike,” manager Tom Dougherty said. “She’ll be missed.”

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