Man arrested for allegedly unprovoked Spokane attacks accused of killing 83-year-old Deer Park man

The 37-year-old man accused of multiple unprovoked attacks last month in Spokane has been arrested on suspicion of killing an 83-year-old man found dead the day after Christmas inside his Deer Park home.

Gary B. Ault faces first-degree murder and first-degree burglary charges in the killing of Richard Purdy, according to a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office news release. Ault was arrested Dec. 27 on suspicion of assault in the allegedly unrelated and unprovoked Spokane attacks. He remained in the Spokane County Jail Tuesday night in lieu of a $1,675,000 bond.

Richard Purdy’s girlfriend found Purdy dead around 6:25 p.m. Dec. 26 on his home office floor, according to search warrant documents.

Purdy died of “sharp and blunt force injuries,” the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office announced. Court documents say Purdy had multiple stab wounds.

Detectives linked a DNA profile from the scene of the alleged murder to Ault through a Combined DNA Index System search, the sheriff’s office said.

Purdy’s girlfriend told investigators she spoke to Purdy on the phone around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 26, and that he was supposed to meet her at her house for dinner at 5:30 p.m. When he did not show up or answer phone calls, the girlfriend checked on Purdy at his home, 29410 N. Dalton Road, south of Deer Park, court records say.

She said she found several guns on the hallway floor before finding Purdy dead and calling 911.

Deputies saw several firearms loaded into the bed of Purdy’s red GMC Sierra, which was parked under the carport outside Purdy’s home, according to documents. Investigators believe the burglar started loading Purdy’s firearms into the pickup but stopped when he encountered Purdy.

The front window of Purdy’s residence was shattered and blood, which investigators believe came from the assailant, was found in several places inside and outside the home, on the GMC and on rifles in the pickup bed, documents say.

Detectives believe Ault cut himself entering through the broken window or while encountering Purdy, documents say.

About 1 mile from Purdy’s home and about two hours before the 911 call, a “suspicious male” with a briefcase and a dog arrived at a nearby home. The man started making “unusual statements” to the residents, including asking the elderly couple if they had firearms, documents say. The couple told the man to leave, so he did.

Investigators said in documents fresh shoe prints in the snow outside the couple’s home were similar to the shoe prints outside Purdy’s home. Investigators located dog tracks in the snow outside Purdy’s residence, as well as shoe prints leading to the front door.

Meanwhile, Spokane police officers responded to three assaults involving five victims Dec. 17, according to a Spokane police news release last week. Police believe Ault is the suspect in the assaults.

Police say the first attack happened at Wall Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard when Ault allegedly sprayed two women who were sitting on the ground with bear spray, kicked their heads and walked off.

Shortly after, Ault is accused of punching two people sitting outside a business on West Main Avenue. Later that day, a woman standing outside a store on the 9400 block of North Division Street was sprayed with bear spray and kicked without warning by Ault, police said.

On Dec. 20, police allege Ault punched and hit a man with a hammer in a north Spokane Target bathroom.

Ault was charged with suspicion of first-, second- and third-degree assault in connection with the attacks. Police said Ault has 14 felony convictions, including burglary, theft and possession of stolen property.