Two More Arrested In Murder Of Woman

Two more suspects have been arrested in the Oct. 28 murder of Tina Smith at a house in the Onion Creek area between Colville and the Canadian border.

Stevens County Prosecutor Jerry Wetle said John H. Steinkraus, 42, and Valerie L. Greenfield, 33, were arrested about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Pinedale, Wyo. Greenfield waived extradition, and a hearing was pending Friday to transfer Steinkraus to the Stevens County Jail.

Steinkraus fired two shotgun blasts that killed Smith, Wetle said in a court document.

He said in an affidavit that Dustin Stoddard, a witness who has not been charged in the crime, heard a shotgun blast and saw Smith either seated or kneeling on the floor. Then Stoddard reported hearing a second blast and seeing Smith’s hair fly forward as she collapsed.

An autopsy showed Smith was shot in the back of the head.

Another suspect, Ray A. Ellis, 46, was arrested Dec. 5 in Spokane. A fourth suspect, Randall C. Gardner, 37, remains at large.

The motive for the crime still isn’t known, Wetle said.

Smith’s body was found in a remote area of northern Stevens County earlier this month. Smith, also known as Tina Mann, lived in Chewelah, Wash. She was the half-sister of Shawnah Mann, 20, who was murdered in April 1992.

, DataTimes