3 found slain in Pullman condominium

Three people were found dead Saturday evening at a condominium in Pullman, the city’s mayor reported.

Police were called to a unit at Statesman Condominiums, 1220 NW State St., about 7 p.m. by a person requesting officers to check on a person there, said Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson.

An officer entered through an unlocked back door and found two males and a female who died by “violent means,” Johnson said. He would only describe them as all under the age of 40.

Johnson said late Saturday that investigators believe they died Saturday. He said police still were verifying the victims’ identities.

Johnson said a weapon was recovered that might have been used.

The last homicide in Pullman that Johnson could remember happened in 1996, when Dorothy Martin, 89, was killed during a burglary. That case also occurred at Statesman Condominiums. A man pleaded guilty to crime in 2001.

The mayor was handling media inquiries about the deaths because he used to be a police spokesman.