Charges Expected To Be Filed In 1991 Killing Of Becky West

Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser is expected to file charges today against a man long suspected in the 1991 murder of an 11-year-old West Central girl and the disappearance of her friend.

Sweetser said Monday he would charge Michael Tarbert, 33, in connection with the case. He would not elaborate on what the charge or charges would be.

Nicki Wood and her 12-year-old friend, Becky West, disappeared Oct. 21, 1991, from the West Central neighborhood. Wood’s body was found under a pile of burning pine needles later that day.

West has not been found.

Spokane detectives identified Tarbert as the chief suspect almost immediately, but spent the last four years building their case.

“If you’re going to charge somebody with a crime that is this high-profile, you better be right,” lead investigator Jim Hansen said in 1993.

Tarbert is currently serving an 11-year sentence in state prison on an unrelated rape charge.

, DataTimes