Unsolved homicides, missing persons

Unsolved cases in Spokane County

The Sheriff’s Office has had 16 unsolved homicide and missing- person cases in 20 years.

1 Julie A. Weflen, 28, went missing Sept. 16, 1987. The Bonneville Power Administration employee was checking on the Springhill substation near Seven Mile Road when she disappeared. Her truck was parked at the substation, and there were signs of a struggle. She is presumed dead.

2 John W. Deetz, 38, a truck driver, went missing Dec. 30, 1988, and is presumed dead. His truck was found at the Broadway Truck Stop, 6606 E. Broadway Ave.

3 Donald R. King, 60, was found strangled and beaten inside his locked trailer on his son’s property in the 20200 block of East Trent Avenue, on Oct. 25, 1988. He was a mobile-home salesman.

4 Steven E. DeLay, 23, was shot to death in his bed through a window of his parents’ home in the 3000 block of South McDonald Street on May 11, 1990. DeLay had worked at Appleway Chevrolet but had moved in with his parents to help care for his father, who was dying of cancer.

5 Kathleen A. Brisbois, 38, was found shot to death in the Spokane River a quarter mile south of Trent Avenue and Pines Road on May 15, 1990. She was a known prostitute.

6 Sherry A. Palmer, 19, was found in a heavily wooded area near Highway 206/Mount Spokane Park Drive and Bill Gulch Road with a bag over her head and a bullet in her chest May 13, 1992. She was last seen May 1 at Al’s Motel on North Division Street.

7 Richard D. Goodsall, 39, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife on Sept. 30, 1992, inside the Brass Faucet Tavern, 12525 E. Sprague Ave., where he worked as a janitor and bartender.

8 Brian R. Cole, 48, was shot three times in the head during a robbery at his business, Cole’s Furniture, 13717 E. Sprague Ave., on Nov. 7, 1992.

9 Kay L. Melius*, 48, went missing on May 8, 1994. She lived in Spokane Valley, and her vehicle was later recovered in downtown Spokane. She is presumed dead.

!0 Jerry W. Rowe, 47, was found outside a small travel trailer in a field behind 15324 E. Valleyway Ave. on June 7, 1994. The property owner had let Rowe and another transient stay there for a couple days.

!1 Thomas L. Terhune, 32, was found on the railroad tracks near the 9800 block of East Euclid Avenue on March 2, 1994.

!2 Andreay A. Lebedinski, 21, was found in the Spokane River near Upriver Dam on July 1, 1997.

!3 Adam S. Crane, 16, was found in Hangman Creek in the 10700 block of South Hangman Valley Road on July 5, 1997.

!4 Eric R. Wurzberg, 39, was found behind a business in the 17300 block of East Trent Avenue on Aug. 4, 1999.

!5 Jason R. Schulwitz, 27, was found bound, beaten and stuffed into a garbage can in the back of a sport utility vehicle at the Fred Meyer at Sprague Avenue and Sullivan Road on Dec. 1, 1999.

!6 (not shown). Catherine Avis, 40, was discovered in the 8800 block of East Elder Road, in a field southwest of Valleyford, on July 31, 2004. Officials are withholding her cause of death.