Two charged in 1987 killing

Two men were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in a case that’s gone unsolved for 17 years.

Tina E. Phillips was found dead on Sept. 11, 1987, near Ninth Avenue and Ivory Street in Grant Park. An autopsy determined that she died from stab wounds to her chest and also suffered injuries to her neck and head.

Lloyd Ray Moore Jr., 36, was booked into the Spokane County Jail and charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.

Fidel August Hudson, 40, also faces a charge of first-degree murder, according to court documents. He was still at large as of Wednesday afternoon, said police spokesman Dick Cottam. A person who answered the phone at Hudson’s father’s home said he didn’t know where Fidel Hudson was.

Moore declined a jail interview. The deputy prosecutor handling the case, G. Mark Cipolla, did not return a call Wednesday afternoon.

Hudson previously was arrested in connection with the case about a week after the killing. But murder charges were dropped three months later based, in part, on crime lab tests on some evidence, The Spokesman-Review reported in 1987.

Hudson and Moore were at a party with Phillips on Sept. 10, 1987, court documents say. A man called police about 10:30 p.m. and reported that he heard a loud party and a woman screaming for help in Grant Park, according to court records. Two officers who responded to the scene didn’t find any problems.

But three hours later, Richie Hudson, Fidel Hudson’s brother, called to report the discovery of Phillips’ body, court records say. Fidel Hudson and another woman reportedly had found it.

Information that led to the new charges was discovered earlier this month while a detective was investigating another case, court documents say. In a police interview with Hudson on Sept. 16, Hudson admitted to participating in the killing, but accused Moore of stabbing Phillips, court records say.

Hudson told a detective that he and Moore decided to separate Phillips from the party to steal $200 and four grams of cocaine from her, court records say. Once the three were alone, Moore demanded the drugs and money, the documents say.

Hudson told police that when Phillips refused, Moore stabbed Phillips, according to court documents. After falling to the ground, Phillips screamed for help and attempted to stand, but Hudson forced her back to the ground and stepped on her throat and Moore held her legs, court records say.

After Phillips stopped struggling, Moore stole the money and cocaine, according to the police interview detailed in court documents.

In 1987, Moore told investigators that he witnessed a fight between Hudson and Phillips and saw Hudson stepping on her neck, according to court records. Moore said he pulled Hudson off the victim, but that he turned away to urinate. When he turned back, the victim was bloodied and lying on the ground, court documents say.

After the killing, Hudson told a woman who had been at the party earlier that he had heard Phillips screaming in the park, court documents say.

He asked her to help him check up on her.

Hudson then led the woman directly to the body near play equipment in the park, documents say. The woman left to call police.