Murder Suspects May Be Tied To Stabbing Death

Sat., Jan. 14, 1995

Gita Sitaramiah And John Craig S Staff writer

A man and boy accused of killing an Elkarea man Wednesday are also suspects in the stabbing death of a woman whose body was found in Spokane last month, sources close to the investigation said Friday.

Jason Kukrall, 21, and Tobias Stackhouse, 17, both of Elk, were charged in Pend Oreille County on Friday with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Steve Roscoe, 43, during a burglary.

Now, Spokane police investigators are looking into a possible link between the two suspects and the fatal stabbing of Linda A. Guillen, 21, of Portland.

“We’re taking a look at them,” said Lt. Jerry Oien, who heads the Spokane Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit.

Other sources, who insisted on anonymity, said the pair are definitely suspects.

Guillen’s body was found on a dead-end street near Playfair Race Track on Dec. 1. Police recognized her as a prostitute who worked on nearby East Sprague.

Detectives spent nearly two weeks trying to learn Guillen’s real name, which they obtained by reviewing old police records from the Seattle area.

Last month, police said they had no suspects in her killing.

Oien wouldn’t say Friday why police are investigating Kukrall and Stackhouse in connection with the stabbing death of Guillen.

But Oien did say that a Spokane police detective, along with two Spokane County detectives, interviewed Stackhouse after the teen’s arrest in Roscoe’s killing.

Roscoe was fatally shot Wednesday after coming home with his wife and discovering burglars in his back yard. Kukrall and Stackhouse were arrested within hours by a Washington State Patrol trooper who stopped their car north of Spokane.

Tom Metzger, the Pend Oreille County prosecutor and coroner, said Friday that an autopsy showed that Roscoe died of a single gunshot wound to the heart. Metzger wasn’t sure of the caliber of the bullet.

Both suspects are believed to have fired handguns, Metzger said, but he was uncertain who fired the fatal shot.

He said two guns still were in the car in which Kukrall and Stackhouse were stopped Wednesday.

Authorities were waiting for a search warrant before gathering evidence from the car, Metzger said.

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