Officials identify West Central homicide victim
Search under way for suspected strangler
The woman found strangled Friday afternoon in a West Central apartment has been identified as 48-year-old Michelle Koenen.
Police continue to hunt for her suspected killer, Tony T. Callihan.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office released Koenen’s name and cause of death on Monday evening, according to KHQ.
Her death was one of two in the West Central neighborhood on Friday.
Police have yet to make any arrests.
Callihan is considered armed and dangerous, said Spokane police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe.
“He is a career criminal. We’ve dealt with him for years,” she said.
Police say he was seen leaving Koenen’s apartment in the 2300 block of West Broadway Avenue on Friday and driving away in her car, a light green 2000 Dodge Stratus.
He has previous felony convictions, and the Washington Department of Corrections also has issued an arrest warrant for escaping from community custody.
He was recently released from the Clallam Bay Corrections Center and returned to Spokane, where he has family and friends.
DeRuwe said Callihan has a violent streak and that the police search for him is a regional effort.