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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Accused killer allegedly confessed to friends, sister

Accused killer Michael W. Baesman spent the early hours of Thursday morning calling friends and family, crying while telling them he believed he killed his girlfriend, according to court documents. Baesman, 36, is believed to have strangled his girlfriend Shawna Wyatt in an upstairs room at the Downtowner Motel. Her body was found Thursday morning around 6 a.m. Spokane police responded to the motel just before 6 a.m. after receiving a phone call from Baesman’s sister. According to court documents, Baesman called his sister around 4:30 a.m. saying he’d gotten into a physical fight with Wyatt and “thought he hurt her pretty bad.” He allegedly told her he returned to the room later and found Wyatt’s body was turning purple. A police sergeant found Baesman’s cell phone number in the dispatch report for the incident and called Baesman, who said he was at a gas station near Illinois Avenue and Perry Street. He agreed to stay put until officers arrived to arrest him. According to court documents, Baesman told officers he and Wyatt got into an argument that turned physical around 10 p.m. Wednesday. He allegedly said he got upset because she was being loud and did not want management to call the police, so he put his hands around her neck and put his hand over her mouth. Wyatt was strangled, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner, and had recent bruises and abrasions on her body. Following the altercation, Baesman allegedly called two acquaintances and two family members, telling them he had killed Wyatt. Several of the witnesses said Baesman was crying and appeared to be intoxicated. Baesman remains in jail on investigation of second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.