Man Again Wanted In Beating Death

Tue., Aug. 24, 1999

By Adam Lynn adaml@spokesman.com

A man arrested in the killing of a homeless person, then released for lack of evidence, is wanted again, Spokane police said Monday.

Detectives said they now have additional evidence linking Loren David Griffith to the death of Mark E. Pierce. A warrant charging Griffith with second-degree murder was issued Monday.

Investigators declined to divulge the new evidence.

Police looking for a suspect in a domestic violence case instead found Pierce, 41, dead in a vacant lot near Fifth and Maple in June 1997.

Pierce’s head had been crushed with a large rock.

Investigators questioned Griffith about Pierce’s death about five months after his body was found, but they didn’t have enough to arrest him.

Earlier this year, friends and relatives of Griffith told police he had bragged of killing Pierce.

His now ex-wife, Angela DeLorme, told detectives this spring that Griffith said he killed Pierce because he was spreading rumors about her.

Griffith was arrested April 30 and charged with the second-degree murder of Pierce.

The charge was dropped less than two weeks later when prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to convict him, according to court records.

He was recently released from jail after serving time for violating a civil protection order, and police aren’t sure where he is.

Griffith is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233.

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