Detectives found a .22 caliber ammunition cartridge earlier this week inside a vehicle previously owned by Donna Perry, 60, a woman linked to the 1990 slaying of Spokane prostitutes, according to recently filed court documents.

The search warrant says Perry, previously known as Douglas, sold her 1969 white International Scout about five years ago and after several owners it ended up in the possession of a Woodland, Wash. man who planned to salvage it for parts.

Detectives offered to buy the vehicle, but the current owner declined to sell. Detectives seized the vehicle with a search warrant and towed it 20 miles to the Washington State Patrol crime lab in Vancouver for analysis.

The car had not been altered since it was owned by Perry, according to court documents. Detectives seized the unused ammo, floor mats and remaining debris lifted by tape from the car during the Dec. 17 search.

The cartridge appeared old and was buried under things on the passenger floor board, according to Detective Jim Dresback. The car had not been running for sometime and the current owner had only had it for about a year.

The ammunition was identified as the same type found inside the bodies of Yolanda Sapp, 26, Nickie Lowe, 34 and Kathleen Brisbois, 38. All three prostitutes were shot to death with a .22 caliber-gun. Their nude bodies were found in or near the Spokane River.

Detectives arrested Perry, previously known as Douglas, earlier this year after a retired detective saw her buying ammo and a pistol magazine. The detective recognized her as a felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms.

Women’s panties were discovered boxed up inside a closet at Perry’s 2006 E. Empire Avenue home during a federal search of the home for firearms.

According to court documents, Perry became a woman in 2000 during a gender reassignment surgery while in Bangkok.

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