Few Clues So Far In Mutilation Deaths

Crime scene investigators were processing evidence Friday at a house where a woman and her teenage daughter were killed and sexually mutilated. Police said they have no suspects.

The bodies of Rita Huffman, 43, and her 14-year-old daughter Mandy were found Wednesday morning by an adult daughter of Huffman.

There was no sign of a break-in and police have few clues.

The state Attorney General’s Office is checking its “HITS” computer for any similarity to other killings or sex crimes, Douglas County Sheriff Dan LaRoche said. Other police agencies also are checking lists of known violent sex offenders, he said.

The killer is “somebody very, very sick. It’s not your average homicide,” LaRoche said.

Coroner Jerry Rappe said the victims were stabbed and sexually mutilated. An autopsy will determine if they had been sexually assaulted.

Douglas County sheriff’s investigators were joined by special Washington State Patrol crime teams in the two-day search for evidence.

Investigators described the scene inside the home as gruesome.

“We’ve never had anything this grotesque around here before,” LaRoche said. “I’ve seen scenes like this in homicide class and in slides, but not in person.”