Body Found On Mount Spokane Is Female Serial Killer Investigators Seeking Possible Witness To Dumping

Sat., June 13, 1998

By Adam Lynn adaml@spokesman.com

A body found near Mount Spokane this week is that of a woman, authorities said Friday.

Investigators also announced that they are looking for a person who might have seen some suspicious activity near the site a few months ago.

A daylong autopsy at Holy Family Hospital determined little more than the gender of the corpse, sheriff’s Capt. Doug Silver said.

“She had light hair and appears to be shorter in height,” he said. “We don’t have any other specifics at this time, including a cause of death.”

The poor condition of the body, found Tuesday in a remote area near Elliot and Wallis roads, is hampering the autopsy, Silver said.

“Part of the problem is the body is so (badly decomposed) that they’re unable to do what they would normally do to a body as far as getting measurements and being able to look at the vital organs, this type of thing,” he said.

Authorities may send the corpse to Seattle, where equipment is available to dry bodies so they are easier to examine.

Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the woman is the victim of a serial killer who has killed at least seven other women in the past seven months.

Silver said a joint city-county task force investigating those killings is still actively involved in the Mount Spokane case.

Detectives have received at least one report of a suspicious vehicle driving in the area where the latest body was discovered.

“Investigators believe there is at least one other witness who saw this vehicle and this activity,” said Silver, a co-commander of the task force. “We’re hoping that witness would call Crime Check with that information.”

He did not give a description of the vehicle or the suspicious activity.

Silver said task force detectives are still seeking information on a missing woman whose lifestyle matches that of the serial killer victims. Melody Ann Murfin, 43, hasn’t been seen since May 20.

Detectives are certain the Mount Spokane body is not that of Murfin.

Anyone with information on Murfin’s whereabouts, or clues about the latest body or serial killings, is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

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