Police seek help in unsolved homicides

Spokane police are asking for the public’s help in two unsolved homicides that are several months old.

Dozens of search warrants have been executed and numerous DNA samples and other evidence have been sent to the Washington State Patrol crime laboratory for analysis in the deaths of 20-year-old Kala Williams and 55-year-old Sharlotte McGill, said Spokane police Maj. Craig Meidl.

“The most effective way to bring a suspected killer to justice is to conduct an extensive investigation, which takes time to complete,” Meidl said in a news release. SPD’s Major Crimes detectives are committed to conducting a thorough investigation in order to solve these crimes and help bring closure to family members, friends and the community, he said.

Williams’ badly decomposed body was found May 13 in a wooded area near 14th Avenue and Milton Street.

Williams’ boyfriend reported her missing April 2 and said he’d last seen her near a home on the 2300 block of West Broadway Avenue several weeks earlier. Williams attended church with her mother twice a week, but police said April 10 that she hadn’t seen her daughter since March 23. Her family told police she had been using drugs recently.

Sharlotte McGill, 55, was walking her dog on a path along the Spokane River on May 3 when an attacker jumped out of the bushes and stabbed her in the upper body several times around 8 a.m. in the area of 1800 E. South Riverton Ave.

The seemingly random attack put the community on edge and hundreds of tips began pouring in, though they have since slowed down.

Anyone with new information on either case is urged to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

“We always welcome new and pertinent tips from the public,” Meidl said in an email.  “These homicides are top priority for police. However we also want to keep them top of mind for the community. We never know if or when a community member can provide that missing piece of information to bring a suspect to justice.”