Pullman patricide suspect to appear in court Monday

PULLMAN – A 24-year-old man accused of killing his father Saturday evening in a Pullman apartment is expected to appear in court Monday. Erik C. Luden is in the Whitman County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Virgil C. Luden, 58, of Sammamish. Police were called to the apartment shortly before 5 p.m. on a report of a domestic dispute and found the elder Luden unresponsive on the floor. Paramedics attempted to revive him but eventually pronounced him dead at the scene. The apartment is at 960 NE C St. in the middle of the College Hill neighborhood beside Washington State University. Erik Luden, who lived at the apartment, is not listed as a student or employee in the university’s online directory. Officers at the crime scene early today declined to give additional information about the investigation. Attempts to contact neighbors were unsuccessful. A property manager said “very few” people are living in the apartment complex as many students have left town for the summer. Erik Luden was taken to jail after being treated for minor injuries at Pullman Regional Hospital. His father apparently suffered head wounds, police said in a news release. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is pending.