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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Boy’s Arrest May Not Be Last In Murder Case

Ward Sanderson The Associated Press Contributed T Staff writer

Despite an arrest, deputies in Walla Walla are still investigating the murders of two people allegedly shot by their daughter’s 16-year-old boy friend, saying they have other “persons of interest.”

Lead investigator Capt. Mike Humphreys said among them is the couple’s daughter, Starr Lake. Humphreys refused to say whether the girl is a suspect.

In the meantime, blood and other evidence are being processed at crime labs in Spokane and Seattle.

“If someone else is involved, we want them too,” Walla Walla County Sheriff Bill Jackson said. When asked why the daughter is being investigated, Jackson said “I couldn’t reveal that, no.”

Jackson said he doesn’t know if there were any problems between Starr Lake and her parents, and that “we haven’t really determined a solid motive.”

Starr Lake’s boyfriend, Michael D. Jansen, was arrested Tuesday and now faces two counts of first-degree murder. The victims, Lester Leroy Lake and Velma Jean Lake, were shot several times in their bedroom July 24.

Starr Lake, 16, told deputies she awoke to find her parent’s bodies. She said she was asleep in the basement when she heard footsteps, then shots. Jansen was there earlier, she told deputies, but left about 9:20 p.m. The girl said she tried to call 911 but couldn’t get through. U S West said Wednesday the system was out from 8:14 p.m. that night until 4:44 a.m. the next morning because of an outage.

The girl went outside and screamed until neighbors took her in and called police at 10:28 p.m.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Ward Sanderson Staff writer The Associated Press contributed to this story.